Timeline Ukraine
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Viburnum opulus (kalyna) is the national symbol of Ukraine.
(SSFC, 3/25/12, p.N2)
Pinterest: http://tinyurl.com/gvuptx2
Travel Docs: http://www.traveldocs.com/ua/index.htm
1500BC Chersonesos on the edge of Sevastopol was the Greek world’s most northern colony.
(SFC,12/190/97, p.F6)
400-300BC A mint of this time served Chersonesos with a population of 10,000 to 20,000.
(SFC,12/190/97, p.F6)
911AD Sep 2, Viking monarch Oleg of Kiev, Russia, signed a treaty with the Byzantines.
(MC, 9/2/01)
988 Prince Vladimir of Kiev, Volodymyr the Great, accepted Byzantine Orthodoxy. This is the traditional date for the beginning of Russian Christianity. The Kievan Rus ruler was baptized in the ancient Crimean Greek city of Chersonesus before bringing Christianity to the region.
(SSFC, 6/24/01, p.A14)(AP, 8/1/15)(AP, 7/28/18)
1015 Vladimir I (b.958), a prince of Novgorod and grand prince of Kiev, died. He had married the sister of Byzantine Emp. Basil II and was baptized in Crimea. Originally a Slavic pagan, Vladimir had converted to Christianity in 988 and Christianized the Kievan Rus. His domain split into warring fiefs that eventually gave rise to Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_I_of_Kiev)(Econ, 11/5/16, p.44)
1237-1240 Mongols conquered Russian lands.
(DVD, Criterion, 1998)
1240 Dec 6, Mongols under Batu Khan occupied and destroyed Kiev.
(MC, 12/6/01)
1347-1350 The Black Death: A Genoese trading post in the Crimea was besieged by an army of Kipchaks from Hungary and Mongols from the East. The latter brought with them a new form of plague, Yersinia pestis. Infected dead bodies were catapulted into the Genoese town. One Genoese ship managed to escape and brought the disease to Messina, Sicily. The disease quickly became an epidemic. It moved over the next few years to northern Italy, North Africa, France, Spain, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, the Low Countries, England, Scandinavia and the Baltic. There were lesser outbreaks in many cities for the next twenty years. An estimated 25 million died in Europe and economic depression followed. In 2005 John Kelly authored “The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time."
(NG, 5/88, p.678)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)(SSFC, 3/6/05, p.B1)(SFC, 10/13/11, p.A6)
1399 Aug 12, The Battle of the Vorskla River (Ukraine) was a great battle in the medieval history of Eastern Europe. It was fought between the Tatars, under Edigu and Temur Qutlugh, and the armies of Tokhtamysh and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania. The battle ended in a decisive Tatar victory.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Europe)
1399 Chersonesos in the southern Crimean peninsula, the Byzantine world’s largest trading outpost, was sacked by the Mongols.
(SFC,12/190/97, p.F6)
1399 Russian chronicles state that when Kiev was threatened by the Tartars, Kiev citizens had to pay to Khan Timur Kutluk a contribution of 3000 Lithuanian roubles.
(VilNews, 12/17/10)
1418 Feb 25, At the Constance church synod the Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Lithuania, Gregory Camblak, proposed a union between the Orthodox and Catholic church.
(LHC, 2/25/03)
1478 Russia’s Ivan the Great destabilized territory under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania much of which later became Ukraine. The policy was designed to encourage people living along the frontier to seek Muscovy’s protection.
(Econ, 9/20/14, p.16)
1482 Sep 1, Krim-Tataren plundered Kiev.
(MC, 9/1/02)
1595 Dec, Bogdan Khmelnitsky (d.1657), leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks, was born.
(SSFC, 2/9/03, p.C14)
1648 May 6, Battle at Zolty Wody-Bohdan: Chmielricki's Cossacks beat John II Casimir.
(MC, 5/6/02)
1648 Jun 24, Cossacks slaughtered 2,000 Jews and 600 Polish Catholics in Ukraine.
(MC, 6/24/02)
1648 Jul 22, Some 10,000 Jews of Polannoe were murdered in a massacre led by Cossack Bogdan Chmielnicki (55).
(PC, 1992, p.241)(MC, 7/22/02)
1648 Sep 21, In Poland at the Battle at Pilawce Bohdan Chmielricki beat John II Casimir.
(PCh, 1992, p.241)(MC, 9/21/01)
1648-1649 It is estimated that 100,000-200,000 Jews died in the Chmielnicki (Khmelnytskyi) revolt that lasted from 1648-1649. This wave of destruction is considered the first modern pogrom.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Poland.html)
1653 Oct 1, Russian parliament accepted annexation of Ukraine.
(MC, 10/1/01)
1654 Jan 18, The union of Ukraine and Russia was announced at the Council of Pereyaslav, but no original documents have been preserved. A treaty invoked only protection of the Cossack state by the Tsar and was intended as an act of official separation of Ukraine from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Pereyaslav)(Econ, 6/20/15, p.53)
1655 Aug 8, Eastern Lithuania was occupied by Russian and Cossack forces. Western Lithuania was occupied by Swedish forces. Following three days of pillaging Vilnius was burned in a fire the lasted 17 days.
(http://tinyurl.com/pm9nvcc)(http://tinyurl.com/ntyk7sl)
1657 Aug 6, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi (b.1595/6), founder of the Hetman state (Ukraine), died. In 1648 Ukrainian officer Bogdan Chmielnicki, with the support of the Tatar Khan of Crimea, roused the local peasants to fight with him and the Russian Orthodox Cossacks against the Jews.
(http://tinyurl.com/5pe5gf)(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Poland.html)
1667 Jan 30, Lithuania, Poland and Russia signed a 13.5 year treaty at Andrusov, near Smolensk. Russia received Smolensk and Kiev.
(LHC, 1/30/03)
1709 Jun 27, Russians under Peter the Great defeated the Swedes under Charles XII and Cossacks at the Battle of Poltava. [O.S. See July 8].
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Poltava)
1709 Jul 8, Peter the Great defeated Charles XII at Poltava, in the Ukraine, effectively ending the Swedish empire. [N.S. see June 28].
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Poltava)
1763 Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Crimean Tartars and Ottoman Turks.
(SFC, 2/4/09, p.A5)
1727 May 7, Jews were expelled from Ukraine by Empress Catherine I of Russia.
(MC, 5/7/02)
1779 Mar 31, Russia and Turkey signed a treaty by which they promised to take no military action in the Crimea.
(HN, 3/31/99)
1783 Dec 28, The Ottoman Empire signed an agreement with Russia that recognized the loss of Crimea and other territories that had been held by the Khanate. Catherine the Great annexed the Crimea to the Russian empire. 83% or the residents were Tatars.
{Crimea, Ukraine, Reuters, Turkey}
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_of_Crimea_by_the_Russian_Empire)(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8)(Econ, 2/25/06, p.55)
1789 Russian soldiers under the leadership of Jose Pascual Domingo de Ribas y Boyons (aka Osip Deribas) chased Ottoman forces from the barracks hamlet of Khadjibey. He recognized the site’s potential for a military base to control the mouths of the Danube, Dniester, Dnieper and Bug rivers. Odessa became the name of the city built there.
(Econ, 2/26/11, p.91)
1792 Jan 9, The Treaty of Jassy was signed recognizing Russia's 1783 annexation of the Crimean Khanate.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1787%E2%80%931792))
1794 Jun 23, Empress Catherine II granted Jews permission to settle in Kiev.
(MC, 6/23/02)
1794 Ukraine’s port city of Odessa was founded. Josef de Ribas, a Naples-born adventurer, after leading an assault on a Turkish Black Sea fortress called Yeni-Dunai, convinced Catherine the Great that the site of Odessa would be a good one for a Russian port. A nearby site called Odessos had long been a Greek colony.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.86)
1803 Alexander I chose Frenchman Duc de Richelieu to serve as governor of Odessa (1803-1814). Richelieu imported acacia tress from Vienna and distributed them free to the residents, who lined them on Primorsky Boulevard.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.86)
1809 Mar 31, Nikolai V. Gogol (d.1852), Ukrainian-born Russian writer, was born (NS) in Sorochyntsi, Poltava Governorate (later Ukraine). Some sources give April 1 as his birthday. His work included the play “The Inspector General" (1836) and the novels “Taras Bulba" (1835) and “Dead Souls" (1842).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Gogol)(WSJ, 4/14/09, p.D7)
1810 Oct 16, Rabbi Nachman (b.1772) of Bratslav died and was buried in Uman, Ukraine. Nachman was renowned for his mystical interpretations of Jewish texts and his belief that higher spirituality could be achieved through a combination of prayer, meditation and good deeds. On his deathbed, he is said to have promised to be an advocate for anyone who would come and pray beside his tomb.
(AP, 9/9/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachman_of_Breslov)
1814 Mar 9, Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s most famous poet, was born.
(SFC, 3/10/01, p.A8)
1819 Russia declared Odessa to be a free port.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.86)
1829 Sardinian architect Franz Boffo designed Odessa’s stock exchange as a neo-classical palace. In 2004 it housed the city council.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.86)
1830 Nov 29, In Warsaw young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress, Poland's military academy revolted against the Russian Empire. They were led by lieutenant Piotr Wysocki and were soon joined by large segments of societies of Lithuania, Belarus, and the Right-bank Ukraine. Nicholas I ruthlessly repressed the insurrection and by October 1831 Polish forces capitulated.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_Uprising)(WSJ, 4/13/99, p.A16)
1853 Jul, Supported by Britain, the Turks took a firm stand against the Russians, who occupied the Danubian principalities (modern Romania) on the Russo-Turkish border. The Crimean War got under way in October. It was fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula between the Russians and the British, French, and Ottoman Turkish, with support, from January 1855, by the army of Sardinia-Piedmont. The war aligned Anglican England and Roman Catholic France with Islam’s sultan-caliphs against the tsars, who saw themselves as the world’s last truly Christian emperors.
(www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/143040/Crimean-War)(Econ, 10/2/10, p.89)
1853 Sep 14, The Allies landed at Eupatoria on the west coast of Crimea.
(HN, 9/14/98)
1853 Sep 20, The Allies defeated the Russians at the battle of Alma on the Crimean Peninsula.
(HN, 9/20/98)
1854 Mar 28, During the Crimean War, Britain and France declared war on Russia.
(AP, 3/28/97)
1854 Sep 14, Allied armies, including those of Britain & France, landed in Crimea.
(MC, 9/14/01)
1854 Oct 25, During the Crimean War, a brigade of British light infantry was destroyed by Russian artillery as they charged down a narrow corridor in full view of the Russians. The Crimean War is largely remembered for the Charge of the Light Brigade, a hopeless but gallant British cavalry charge against a heavily defended Russian force. The battle began when the Russians attacked the British-French supply depot at Balaclava, some eight miles from Sevastopol, on the Black Sea Crimean Peninsula. Taken by surprise, the British counterattacked but failed to follow up. Through a staff error, Gen. Lord Cardigan's Light Brigade of 673 horsemen was ordered to charge the Russian position through a mile-long valley and prevent them from carrying away some captured cannon. The Light Brigade advanced up the valley, taking casualties all the way, and reached the guns. But once there, they could not hold their position and were forced to retreat. Of the 673 men who took part in the senseless charge, only 195 were present at roll call that night. The Charge of the Light Brigade ended the battle, but Balaclava remained in the hands of the British-French Allies. The event was described in a poem by Tennyson. French General Bosquet remarked "It is magnificent, but it is not war."
(AP, 10/25/97)(HNPD, 10/25/98)(HN, 10/25/98)(MC, 10/25/01)
1854 Nov 4, Florence Nightingale and her nurses arrived in the Crimea.
(HN, 11/4/98)
1854 Nov 5, The British and French defeated the Russians at Inkerman, Crimea.
(HN, 11/5/98)
1855 Jun 17, Heavy French-British shelling of Sebastopol killed over 2000.
(MC, 6/17/02)
1855 Sep 9, Sevastopol, under siege for nearly a year, fell to the Allies. France, England, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia (as Italy was then known) defeated the Russians at Sevastopol in the decisive battle of the Crimean War.
{France, Britain, Turkey, Italy, Russia}
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War)(SFC, 7/27/13, p.C2)
1855 Nov 26, Several thousand people staged a parade and banquet at South Park, SF, to celebrate the Allied victory over the Russians in the Crimean War, the capture of the Malakoff fortress in Sevastopol.
(SFC, 7/21/00, p.WBb3)
1855 The English Commons voted for an inquiry into the conduct of the Crimean campaign.
(Econ, 11/4/06, p.67)
1856 Mar 30, Russia signed the Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean War. It guaranteed the integrity of Ottoman Turkey and obliged Russia to surrender southern Bessarabia, at the mouth of the Danube. The Black Sea was neutralized, and the Danube River was opened to the shipping of all nations. In 2010 Allen Lane authored “Crimea: The Last Crusade."
(www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/143040/Crimean-War)
1859 Feb 18, Shalom Aleichem (Solomon Rabinowitz, d.1916), Russian-Yiddish playwright, author and humorist, was born in the Ukraine. "To want to be the cleverest of all is the biggest folly."
(AP, 1/13/01)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholem_Aleichem)
1861 Mar 10, Taras Shevchenko (b.1814), Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, died in St. Petersburg. He was a member of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood and an academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Shevchenko propounded an ethnic nationalism that divided Ukraine from its imperial Russian masters. His poetry helped codify the Ukrainian language.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taras_Shevchenko)(AP, 3/9/14)(Econ, 10/22/16, p.44)
1871 A pogrom took place against the Jews in Odessa and the governor made no effort to suppress it.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.88)
1881 May 5, Anti-Jewish rioting took place in Kiev, Ukraine.
(MC, 5/5/02)
1881 A large pogrom took place against the Jews in Odessa.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.88)
1887 Geographers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire set fixed points to measure altitude in connection with the European measurement of meridional and parallel degrees. One marker at Rakhiv, Ukraine, was later mis-interpreted to mark the center of Europe.
(WSJ, 7/14/04, p.A1)
1890 Feb 28, Vaslav Nijinsky, ballet dancer (3/12 NS), was born in Kiev, Ukraine. He was the pre-eminent ballet artist of his day and at 20 became the protege and lover of Sergei Diaghilev. He spent some time in psychotherapy during which he made a number of abstract drawings. Nijinsky died in 1950 in London. [see Mar 12]
(SFC, 9/29/97, p.E5)(MC, 2/28/02)
1890 Mar 12, Vasav Nijinsky (d.1950), Russian dancer, was born. He was considered the world's greatest ballet dancer. [see Feb 28]
(HN, 3/12/99)
1890 A metalic likeness of Catherine the Great was erected in Simferepol, the capital of Crimea, to commemorate the century of her capture of the peninsula.
(Econ, 6/8/19, p.48)
1891 Jan 20, Mischa Elman, US violinist, was born in Talnoye, Ukraine.
(MC, 1/20/02)
1891 Jan 26, Ilya G. Ehrenburg, writer, propagandist (Fall of Paris, The Thaw), was born in Kiev, Ukraine.
(MC, 1/26/02)
1891 Apr 23, Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev, composer (Peter & the Wolf), was born in Ukraine. [see Apr 27]
(MC, 4/23/02)
1891 Apr 27, Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev, composer, was born. [see Apr 23]
(MC, 4/27/02)
1898 May 3, Golda Mier (d.1978), 4th Prime Minister of Israel (1969-1974) and the first woman PM, was born in Kiev, Ukraine. "Whether women are better than men, I cannot say -- but I can say they are certainly no worse."
(AP, 5/11/97)(HN, 5/3/02)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golda_Meir)
1898 Oct 1, Jews were expelled from Kiev, Russia.
(MC, 10/1/01)
1904 Oct 1, Vladimir Horowitz, Russian-born American virtuoso pianist, was born in Kiev, Ukraine.
(HN, 10/1/98)(MC, 10/1/01)
1905 Another large pogrom took place against the Jews in Odessa, Ukraine. Many began to leave, mainly for the USA.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.88)
1906 Jul 23, Pogroms took place against Jews in Odessa.
(MC, 7/23/02)
1906 Dec 19, Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist arty and President of the Supreme Soviet from 1964 until 1982, was born in the Ukraine.
(HN, 12/19/98)(MC, 12/19/01)
1906 Lew Grade (born Louis Winogradsky; d.1998 at 91), was born in Tokmak. He went to London at age 6 and in 1955 founded Associated Television, the first commercially funded channel in Britain.
(SFC, 12/14/98, p.C4)
1908 Sep 30, David Oistrakh, violinist and professor at the Moscow Conservatory, was born in Odessa, Russia (Ukraine).
(HN, 9/30/00)(MC, 9/30/01)
1911 Sep 14, Russian Premier Piotr Stolypin was mortally wounded in an assassination attempt at the Kiev opera house.
(HN, 9/14/98)
1911 Sep 18, Russian Premier Piotr Stolypin (b.1862) died four days after being shot at the Kiev opera house by socialist lawyer Dimitri Bogroff. As governor of the Saratov province, Stolypin ruthlessly suppressed local peasant uprisings, and helped to squelch the revolutionary upheavals of 1905. As Prime Minister, Stolypin initiated major agrarian reforms that granted the right of private land ownership to the peasantry.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Stolypin)
1913 Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935), Ukraine artist, designed the costumes for the opera “Victory Over the Sun."
(Econ, 10/26/13, p.96)(Econ, 12/21/13, SR p.5)
1914 Mar 20, Svyatoslav Richter, pianist (Stalin Prize-1945), was born in Zhitomir, Ukraine.
(MC, 3/20/02)
1914 Oct 29, A Turkish fleet including 2 German cruisers stormed the Black Sea and bombarded Odessa, Sevastopol and Theodosia. [see Nov 2]
(PC, 1992, p.706)
1915 Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935), Ukraine born pioneer of abstract art, painted "Suprematist Cross in Black Square." It featured a dark black square against a white background and was "emblematic of the avant-garde belief that abstraction penetrated to the essence of things, on which basis the world could be reinvented."
(SFC, 5/28/98, p.E5)(WSJ, 10/5/05, p.D14)(Econ, 10/26/13, p.96)
1916 Oct 19, Emil Gilels, pianist (Brussels Competition-1938), was born in Odessa, Ukraine.
(MC, 10/19/01)
1917 Jun 29, The Ukraine proclaimed independence from Russia.
(HN, 6/29/98)
1918 Feb 14, Warsaw demonstrators protested the transfer of Polish territory to the Ukraine.
(HN, 2/14/98)
1918 Feb 22, Germany claimed the Baltic states, Finland and Ukraine from Russia.
(MC, 2/22/02)
1918 Feb 20, The Soviet Red Army seized Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine.
(HN, 2/20/98)
1918 Mar 3, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russian participation in World War I. Germany and Austria forced Soviet Russia to sign the Peace of Brest, which called for the establishment of 5 independent countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russian participation in World War I, was annulled by the November 1918 armistice. The treaty deprived the Soviets of White Russia.
(HN, 3/3/99)(LHC, 3/1/03)(AP, 3/3/08)
1918 Mar 22, Ukrainian mobs massacred the Jews of Seredino Buda. Other sites date the event to March 8 and March 9.
(www.ukraine-observer.com/articles/205/612)
1919 Feb, The Polish–Soviet War began and continued to March 1921. It was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine against the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic, four states in post-World War I Europe.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish-Soviet_War)
1919 Aug 10, Ukrainian National Army massacred 25 Jews in Podolia, Ukraine.
(MC, 8/10/02)
1919 Aug 31, The Ukrainian (Petlyura) Army recaptured Kiev. Petlyura's Ukrainian Army killed 35 members of a Jewish defense group.
(MC, 8/31/01)
1919 Jimmy Winkfield (1882-1974), former US Kentucky Derby winner, helped lead 262 horses from the Odessa (Ukraine) race track to Warsaw, Poland, in a 3-month journey in front of the advancing Red Army.
(SSFC, 5/7/06, p.P8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Winkfield)
1920 Apr 27, Pogrom leader Petljoera (Petlyura) declared Ukraine Independence.
(MC, 4/27/02)
1920 Isaac Stern (d.2001), Russian-Jewish immigrant to the US and legendary violinist, was born in the Ukraine. His family arrived in San Francisco a year later. In 1960 he saved Carnegie Hall from the wrecking ball.
(SSFC, 9/23/01, p.A24)(SFC, 9/24/01, p.G1)
1921 Oct 18, Russian Soviets granted Crimean independence.
(HN, 10/18/98)
1922 Dec 30, Vladimir I. Lenin proclaimed the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Soviet Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Soviet Union was organized as a federation of RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Belorussian SSR and Transcaucasian SSR.
(AP, 12/30/97)(HN, 12/30/98)
1925 “The White Guard," a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) of Kiev during the Russian civil war, first appeared in part in serial form. A stage version titled “The Days of the Turbins" ran from 1926-1941. The novel was not reprinted in Russia until 1966.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Guard)(Econ, 8/9/14, p.67)
1926 May 25, Symon Petlyura (47), leader of Ukraine (pogroms), was assassinated.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1927 Josef Stalin purged much of the Tatar intelligentsia in the Crimea.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8)
1927 Stephen Timoshenko, Ukraine-born railroad engineer, arrived in Michigan and joined the Univ. of Michigan where he became the world’s leading authority on applied mechanics. His 18 textbooks were published in 36 languages.
(MT, Summer/04, p.7)
1932 Walter Duranty of the NY Times won a Pulitzer Prize for his series on the Soviet Union. In 2003 a historian argued, without success, that the prize should be revoked due to Duranty's deliberate failure to cover the forced famine in the Ukraine that killed millions of people. In 2004 David C. Engerman authored "Modernization from the Other Shore," an American view of the Soviet experience."
(SFC, 10/23/03, p.A3) (SFC, 11/22/03, p.A3)(WSJ, 2/24/04, p.D8)
1932-1933 Stalin imposed terror and famine on the Ukraine, Kuban and Kazakhstan that was carried out be Lazar Kaganovich. Millions died in the famine. Stalin provoked what the Ukrainians called the Great Famine as part of his campaign to force Ukrainian peasants to give up their land and join collective farms. During the height of the famine, which was enforced by methodical confiscation of all food by the Soviet secret police, cannibalism was widespread. In 2017 Anne Applebaum authored "Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine".
(WSJ, 2/14/96, p.A-15)(SFC, 4/3/97, p.C2)(AP, 11/26/05)(Econ, 9/30/17, p.76)
1933 Mar 29, The front page of the New York Evening Post said "Famine Grips Russia — Millions Dying." The report was by Welsh journalist Gareth Jones who had recently sneaked into Ukraine, at the height of a famine engineered by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Jones was killed by bandits in 1935 while covering Japan's expansion into China. In 2009 the diaries of Jones were put on display for the first time in London.
(AP, 11/13/09)
1933 Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990), English writer and reporter, broke the story on the famine in the Ukraine.
(WSJ, 4/17/96, p.A-18)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Muggeridge)
1939 Mar 15, The Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine, led by Avhustyn Voloshyn (d.1945), declared independence amid the Nazi dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Independence ending that same evening by an invasion from Hungary. In 1946 the area became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, as the Zakarpattia Oblast ('Transcarpathian Oblast'). After the break-up of the Soviet Union, it became part of independent Ukraine as Zakarpattia Oblast.
(Econ, 3/14/09, p.57)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpatho-Ukraine)
1939-1945 During WW II the Germans and Ukrainians used Transdniestria as a killing field to purge Europe of some 150,000 Jews.
(SSFC, 2/12/06, p.E2)
1940 Mar 5, Stalin among others signed an Order for the massacre at Katyn, Poland. Soviet agents shot 21,768 Polish military officers, intellectuals and priests who had been taken prisoner during the invasion. Between April and May some 25,700 (15,000) Polish citizens were massacred by the Soviets in the Katyn and Miednoje (Mednoye) forests on the outskirts of Moscow and at Kharkov in western Russia (later Ukraine). Some 14,700 Polish officers were identified by their uniforms. Documents were made public in 1992 by Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first post-Soviet leader. They included a letter by Lavrenty Beria, head of the secret police, recommending the execution of the Polish prisoners of war. The letter bears the signatures of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and three other members of the Politburo. Excavations of the sites began in 1994. 6,313 Polish officers were all shot in the back of the head near Mednoye. 9,000 Russians were also massacred at the site. In 2008 Andrzej Wajda directed the film “Katyn." In 2004 Russia's top military prosecutor closed the investigation after concluding that the massacre did not constitute genocide. In 2009 Russia's Supreme Court rejected appeals to re-open the investigation. On April 7, 2010, Russian PM Vladimir Putin attended a memorial ceremony. Hours later he said Stalin had ordered the atrocity as revenge for the death of Red Army soldiers in Polish prisoner of war camps in 1920.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.16)(SFEC, 9/3/00, p.A18)(AP, 3/6/05)(Econ, 6/21/08, p.65)(AP, 1/29/09)(SFC, 4/8/10, p.A2)(AP, 4/28/10)
1941 Jun 22, Germany attacked the Soviet Union, its former ally. When the German forces entered the Polish city of Lviv (Lwov), they and their Ukrainian collaborators massacred Jews in the city and countryside. While occupying the area, Germans murdered Jews in the ghetto, the Belzec death camp and a forced labor camp, Janowska, with the final annihilation occurring in 1943.
(AP, 9/2/18)
1941 Jun 25, Germans invaded Dubno, Poland, and encouraged the Ukrainians to do whatever they want to 12,000 Jews living there.
(MC, 6/25/02)
1941 Jul 3, German soldiers arrive in Kolomiya, which belonged to Poland at this time, and tacked up posters the declared in three languages “Death to All Jews." Blanca Rosenberg (d.1998) wrote a memoir in 1993, “To Tell at Last," that described how she survived the Holocaust.
(SFC, 9/29/98, p.C2)
1941 Jul 21, 200 Jewish Torahs were burned in Ukraine.
(MC, 7/21/02)
1941 Jul 27, The German army entered Ukraine.
(MC, 7/27/02)
1941 Jul, The 16,000 sq. mile area of the Ukraine named Transnistria was granted by Hitler to the Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu for Romania’s participation in the war against the soviet Union. Jews from Bessarabia, Bukovina and were Moldova were transferred here and many thousands were murdered from 1941-1944 by the Romanian Gendarmeric, the Einsatrzgruppe D, Ukrainian police and Sonderkommando R.
(WSJ, 7/30/97, p.A15)
1941 Jul, Metropolitan Andrij Sheptysky, leader of the Greek Catholics, greeted the German army for liberation from Russia.
(SFC, 6/27/01, p.A12)
1941 Aug 13, Red army evacuated Smolensk.
(MC, 8/13/02)
1941 Aug 21-Sep 26, The Soviet Union's greatest defeat in WWII occurred during the encirclement of the Ukrainian city of Kiev. The Germans took some 665,000 Soviet prisoners.
(HNQ, 8/12/98)
1941 Sep 19, The German army conquered Kiev.
(MC, 9/19/01)
1941 Sep 21, The German Army cut off the Crimean Peninsula from the rest of the Soviet Union.
(HN, 9/21/98)
1941 Sep 24, There was a bomb explosion in German headquarters in Hotel Continental in Kiev.
(MC, 9/24/01)
1941 Sep 29, In Ukraine some 33,711 Jews of Kiev were killed over 2 days before Yom Kippur in the ravine at Babi Yar by the Nazis. Henrich Himmler had sent four strike squads to exterminate Soviet Jewish civilians and other "undesirables." Over the next 2 years some 100-200 thousand more people, mostly Jews, were killed at the site.
(SFC, 10/29/96, p.A6)(HN, 9/29/00)(SFC, 6/25/01, p.A8)(SFC, 6/26/01, p.A8)(AP, 11/16/07)
1941 Sep 30, In Ukraine 33,771 Jews were killed in a two-day Nazi operation at Babi Yar ravine near Kiev [see Sep 29]. Einsatzgruppe C was responsible for the shooting of nearly 34,000 at Babi Yar.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babi_Yar)(AP, 9/28/17)
1941 Oct 3, All elderly Jewish men of Kerenchug Ukraine, were killed by SS.
(MC, 10/3/01)
1941 Oct 8, The Germans arrived in Mariupol, Ukraine, and immediately instituted anti-Jewish measures.
(WSJ, 1/19/08, p.W8)
1941 Oct 12, Thousands of Jews were killed in Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine, by men of the Security Police (Sicherheitspolizei; SiPo), assisted by members of the German Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) and the railroad police.
(Econ, 1/23/10, p.48)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivano-Frankivsk)
1941 Oct 15, Odessa, a Russian port on the Black Sea which had been surrounded by German troops for several weeks, was evacuated by Russian troops.
(HN, 10/15/98)
1941 Oct 18, The Germans forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, murdered some 9,000 local Jews.
(WSJ, 1/19/08, p.W8)
1941 Oct 22-23, Some 39,000 [20,000] Jews were killed by Romanian troops over 2 days in Odessa. Many of them were burned to death in a public square or in warehouses that were locked shut. Altogether some 90,000 Jews were killed in Odessa.
(SFC, 6/15/98, p.A11)(WSJ, 3/23/04, p.D8)
1941 Oct 25, 16,000 Jews were massacred in Odessa, Ukraine. [see Oct 22-23]
(MC, 10/25/01)
1941 Nov 6, Einsatz death groups killed some 18 thousand Jews of Rovno, Ukraine. “Einsatzgruppen" were special soldiers who followed the fighting forces and “cleaned up" the area.
(www.members.tripod.com/~ebionite/zikkar.htm#nov)
1941 Nov, Nazis in the Ukraine set up a concentration camp near the village of Gvozdavka-1, near Odessa, and killed about 5,000 Jews. Their mass grave was found in 2007.
(AP, 6/5/07)
1941 Dec 3, Hitler viewed Poltava, Ukraine.
(MC, 12/3/01)
1941 Dec-1942 Jan, A massacre of Jews began when Romanian and Ukrainian troops nailed shut one of the pigsties' doors and windows in Bogdanovka, then torched it, burning all inside alive. The killing went on for three weeks in late December 1941 and early January 1942. An estimated 48,000 people were killed.
(AP, 9/9/07)
1941 According to later day Holocaust researchers a force in Ukraine under the command of Roman Shukhevych took part in pogroms in which 4,000 Jews were killed. In 2007 Shukhevych was posthumously named a Hero of Ukraine.
(AP, 11/16/07)
1941 Ukraine nationalist leader Stepan Bandera (1912-1959) fell out with the Nazis, after the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists declared Ukraine's independence, and he was sent to a concentration camp. He won back Germany's support in 1944 and was released. His group was involved in the ethnic cleansing that killed tens of thousands of Poles across the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1942 and 1944.
(AP, 1/1/14)
1941-1944 Germany occupied the Crimean peninsula.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8)
1942 May 8, German summer offensive opened in Crimea.
(MC, 5/8/02)
1942 May 12, The Soviet Army launched its first major offensive of the war and took Kharkov in the eastern Ukraine from the German army.
(HN, 5/12/99)
1942 Jun 30, Col-gen Von Paulus' 6th Army stormed into the Ukraine.
(MC, 6/30/02)
1942 Summer, Members of Kiev’s Dynamo soccer team were brought out from forced labor to play a series of exhibition games. The last game was against Flakelf, a Luftwaffe team, which lost to Dynamo 5-2. Dynamo members were later arrested. One died of torture and 3 more were killed near the Babi Yar ravine. In 2002 Andy Dougan authored “Dynamo: Triumph and Tragedy in Nazi-Occupied Kiev."
(WSJ, 9/6/02, p.W10)
1942 Jul 13, 5,000 Jews of Rovno, Polish Ukraine, were executed by Nazis.
(MC, 7/13/02)
1942 The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, was created and battled both Soviet and Nazi forces during the war. Hostility toward the partisans later ran deep because they initially sought support from the Nazis, believing the Germans would grant Ukraine independence.
(AP, 10/15/07)
1943 Jul 11, In Poland the killing of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists peaked. From 1943-1944 Ukrainian nationalists killed up to 100,000 Poles in Volyn and eastern Galica, areas then in Poland but now in Ukraine. The peak of the killings involved Poles being butchered with axes and saws.
(AP, 7/11/16)
1943 Nov 6, Soviet forces reconquered Kiev.
(MC, 11/6/01)
1943 Some 35,000 Poles in Lviv were massacred by extreme Ukrainian nationalists. Poland opened investigations around 2001.
(SFC, 6/27/01, p.A12)
1944 Apr 10, Soviet forces liberated Odessa from Nazis.
(MC, 4/10/02)
1944 May 6, The Red Army besieged and captured Sevastopol in the Crimea.
(HN, 5/6/99)
1944 May 9, Russians recaptured Crimea by taking Sevastopol. [see May 6]
(MC, 5/9/02)
1944 May 18, The Soviet Union began the expulsion of more than 200,000 Tartars from Crimea. They were accused of collaborating with the Germans. Stalin deported some 250,000 Tatars from Crimea to Uzbekistan. They did not being to return home until the fall of the USSR.
(SC, 5/18/02)(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8,9)
1944 Jul 22, German SS officer Siegfried Assmuss, commander of a unit of the Ukrainian Self-Defense Legion, was killed by partisans near Chlaniow, Poland.
(AP, 6/14/13)(http://tinyurl.com/kk5e6s3)
1944 Jul 23, A Ukrainian Self-Defense unit, directed to "liquidate all the residents" of Chlaniow, Poland, in a reprisal attack for the killing of German SS officer Siegfried Assmuss, killed 44 people including women and children. In 2013 Michael Karkoc (94), a retired Minnesota carpenter, was named as commander of the Nazi SS-led unit in the Chlaniov attack.
(AP, 6/14/13)(http://tinyurl.com/kk5e6s3)(AP, 11/18/13)
1944 Josef Stalin deported some 250,000 Tatars from Crimea to Uzbekistan. They did not being to return home until the fall of the Soviet Union.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8,9)
1944 The Soviet army re-conquered Bessarabia. Only then were the two parts of present-day Moldova joined together to form the Moldavian SSR. At the same time, about one-third of Bessarabia, including its entire Black Sea coastline, was incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR. The Transdniester region, having long been part of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union, remained more Russified and Sovietized than Right-Bank Moldavia.
(http://tinyurl.com/b7m4b)
1945 Feb 4-1945 Feb 12, President Roosevelt, British PM Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin held a wartime conference in the Livadia Palace at Yalta, in the southern Ukraine. Roosevelt joked to Stalin that the only concession he might give to Ibn Saud in Saudi Arabia was "the 6 million Jews in the US." In 2012 Michael Dobbs authored “Six Months in 1945: FDR, Stalin, Churchill, and Truman – From World War to Cold War."
(AP, 2/4/97)(WSJ, 3/8/99, p.A16)(SSFC, 11/25/12, p.F4)(Econ, 10/5/13, p.58)
1945 Feb 19, Ivan Kozhedub of the Ukraine became the only Soviet pilot to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter and, on April 19, 1945, he downed two Focke-Wulf Fw-190s to bring his final tally to 62--the top Allied ace of the war. He was the Allies’ top ace and one of only two Soviet fighter pilots to be awarded the Gold Star of a Hero of the Soviet Union three times during World War II. Ironically prevented from fighting because his skill as a pilot made him more useful as an instructor, Kozhedub did not fly his first combat mission until March 26, 1943.
(HNQ, 4//01)
1945 Aug 16, The communist dominated Polish government signed a treaty with the USSR to formally cede eastern territories, including Galicia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_areas_annexed_by_the_Soviet_Union)(Econ, 7/7/07, p.51)
1954 Feb 19, The Crimea was ceded to Ukraine as a gift from Russia by Nikita Khrushchev. In 2004 ethnic Russians made up a majority of the population.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_transfer_of_Crimea)(WSJ, 12/21/04, p.A14)
1959 Oct 15, Stepan Bandera (b.1909), a Ukrainian nationalist, was assassinated in Munich by a KGB agent who used a spray gun to fire cyanide gas into his face. In 2010 Ukraine Pres. Yushchenko issued a decree posthumously awarding the nation's highest award to Bandera weeks before his term ended in February. Yushchenko called Bandera patriot, but the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish rights group, said Bandera's followers were linked to the deaths of thousands of Jews. In April 2010 a court overturned the decree.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera)(WSJ, 11/21/96, p.A10)(AP, 4/3/10)
1967 Viacheslav Chornovil was arrested by Soviet authorities for dissident activities. His 3 year sentence was later cut in half.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1972 Oct 26, Igor Sikorsky (b.1889), Ukraine-born helicopter pioneer, died in Connecticut.
(HNPD, 10/27/98)(ON, 3/06, p.5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Sikorsky)
1972 Viacheslav Chornovil was again arrested for publishing an underground newsletter and sentenced to 6 years in prison and e years in exile.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1973 Aug 28, Princess Anne became the first member of the British royal family to visit the Soviet Union when she arrived in Kiev for an equestrian event.
(www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/this_day_in_history/this_day_August_28.php)
1976 An 86-pound topaz crystal was found in the central Zhytomyr region. In 1997 it was stolen from a Kiev museum.
(SFC, 2/1/97, p.A15)
1977 Nov 16, Oksana Baiul, Ukraine figure skater (Olympic-gold-1994), was born.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oksana_Baiul)
1980 Apr, Viacheslav Chornovil was again arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison, but was released in 1983.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1980 Ukrainian dissident poet Vasyl Stus was arrested for “anti-Soviet activity." Viktor Medvedchuk was appointed his lawyer. During his closing speech at the trial, Medvedchuk denounced his client and said that all of Stus’s “crimes" deserved punishment. Stus was sentenced to 10 years of forced labor in the notorious Perm-36 Gulag camp where he died, while on hunger strike, in 1985.
(The Daily Beast, 7/14/19)
1980 In Ukraine an explosion at the Gorskaya mine killed 66 miners.
(SFEC, 3/12/00, p.A17)
1986 Apr 26, The world's worst nuclear accident occurred in Pripyat, Ukraine, at 1:23 a.m. as the Chernobyl atomic power plant exploded. A 300-hundred-square-mile area was evacuated. 41 men died from the explosion and unknown thousands were exposed to radioactive material that spread in the atmosphere throughout the world. The plant burned for 10 days. About 70% of the fallout fell in Belarus. Damage was estimated to be up to $130 billion. By 1998 10,000 Russian "liquidators" involved in the clean-up had died and thousands more became invalids. Gen. Nikolai Timofeyevich Antoshkin (d.2021), organized the "liquidators" to seal the core. It was later estimated that the released radioactivity was 200 times the combined bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was later found that Soviet scientists were authorized to carry out experiments that required the reactor to be pushed to or beyond its limits, with safety features disabled.
(WSJ, 11/8/95, p.A-1)(SFC, 4/27/98, p.A14)(SFC, 12/18/99, p.C4)(AP, 4/26/05)(Econ, 10/6/07, p.18)(Econ, 4/30/15, p.48)(Econ., 2/6/21, p.74)
1986 Apr 27, In Ukraine the town of Pripyat was evacuated some 36 hours following the worst nuclear disaster in history.
(Econ, 4/30/15, p.48)
1986 Apr 28, The Soviet Union informed the world of the Apr 26 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, saying the accident damaged a reactor and that aid was being rendered to "those affected."
(AP, 4/28/02)
1986 Jun 15, Pravda announced that the high-level Chernobyl staff in Ukraine was fired.
(http://tinyurl.com/ydptos)
1986 Mustafa Dzhemilev, a leader of the Tatar community in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, was released from a Soviet prison. He was jailed in 1983 for trying to execute the will of his father to be buried in Crimea.
(Econ, 6/20/15, p.59)
1986 The Soviet leadership sent an estimated 7,000 Lithuanians, all but 100 of them male, to Chernobyl in the months and years after the Ukraine nuclear disaster. Many were forced against their will. They joined others from across the Soviet Union to work on the clean-up without sufficient protection or medication for their exposure to the high levels of radiation. Many later suffered from illnesses and health problems as a result.
(Reuters, 7/31/19)
1986-1992 Leonid Kuchma led the Soviet Yuzmash rocket plant.
(SFC, 2/13/01, p.A10)
1989 Viacheslav Chornovil was instrumental in the formation of the pro-independence Popular Rukh.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1990 Mar 4, Voters in the Soviet republics of Russia, Byelorussia and the Ukraine participated in local and legislative elections, resulting in notable gains for reformists and nationalists.
(AP, 3/4/00)
1990 Jul 16, The Ukraine Parliament approved a declaration of State Sovereignty. The people's deputies vote 339-5 to proclaim July 16 a national holiday.
(www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/2001/340119.shtml)
1990 The fiercely anti-Russian Ukrainian National Assembly was created, and its paramilitary wing UNA-UNSO in 1991 after the abortive putsch in Moscow.
(AP, 1/1/05)
1991 Aug 1, President Bush, visiting the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, urged Soviet republics to show restraint in their demands for more autonomy.
(AP, 8/1/01)
1991 Aug 24, Ukraine declared independence from USSR.
(www.users.bigpond.com/kyroks/ukrhist10.html)
1991 Dec 1, Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union. Viacheslav Chornovil finished 2nd to Leonid Kravchuk.
(WP 6/29/96, p.A20)(AP, 12/1/97)(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1991 Dec 8, Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine declared the Soviet national government dead, forging a new alliance to be known as the Commonwealth of Independent States. Boris Yeltsin, Ukrainian Pres. Leonid Kravchuk, and Belarus Pres. Stanislav Shuskevich met in a hunting lodge to proclaim the Soviet Union null and void and to form a loose Commonwealth of Independent States. The declaration later became known as the "Belavezha Accords."
(SFC, 9/9/98, p.A10)(AP, 12/8/01)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislau_Shushkevich)
1991 Jews erected a menorah monument memorial at the WW II Babi Yar site. [see Sep 1941]
(SFC, 6/26/01, p.A8)
1991 Ukraine deregulated prices.
(Econ, 11/4/06, p.86)
1992 Feb 14, The former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan rejected a proposal for a unified army, sharply rebuffing Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin.
(AP, 2/14/02)
1992 The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate separated from the Russian Orthodox Church following Ukraine's independence.
(AFP, 7/5/14)
1992 Sevastopol was opened to the outside world.
(SFC,12/190/97, p.F6)
1994 Mar 27, Ukraine held its first parliamentary elections since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
(AP, 3/27/99)
1994 Jul 19, Leonid Kuchma (b.1938) took office as the 2nd president of Ukraine.
(Econ, 1/23/10, p.48)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Kuchma)
1994 Dec 5, President Clinton, on a whirlwind visit to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Budapest, Hungary, urged European leaders to "prevent future Bosnias." In the so-called Budapest memorandum Britain, Russia and the US affirmed their commitment to respect the independence, sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine.
(AP, 12/5/99)(AFP, 3/3/14)
1994 Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons it had inherited from the Soviet Union in exchange for security guaranties from Britain, France, America and Russia.
(Econ., 3/7/15, p.24)
1994 Sunday Adelaja (27), a Nigerian evangelist, began prayer meetings in Kiev, Ukraine, for alcoholics, drug addicts and petty crooks. By 2006 he claimed some 25,000 members.
(WSJ, 7/21/06, p.A1)
1995 Mar 1, Vitaly Massol, Ukraine premier, resigned.
(SC, 3/1/02)
1995 May 12, President Clinton, during a stopover in Ukraine, visited Babi Yar, where the Nazis massacred more than 30,000 Kiev Jews in 1941.
(AP, 5/12/00)
1995 Dec, Accord to be signed in Canada. The country was committing to close down the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by the turn of the century. Closure is estimated to cost $4 bil. The group of seven industrialized nations has offered $2 bil in credits to reshape the energy sector.
(WSJ, 12/20/95, p.A-10)
1995 In Kiev police outside St. Sophia Cathedral beat demonstrators, who tried to bury Orthodox Patriarch Volodymyr at an unauthorized site.
(SFC, 3/10/01, p.)
1996 Apr 9, Drinking water in most of Ukraine’s cities isn’t potable because of industrial pollution and aging water pipes. From a study by the Health Ministry.
(WSJ, 4/9/96, p.A-15)
1996 Apr 16, Anatoly Onoprienko was arrested in western Ukraine. He later admitted to the murder of some 52 people in a serial killing spree from 1989 to 1996 that first came to attention in 1995. He went on trial in 1998. In 1999 the former sailor was sentenced to death.
(www.thecrimeweb.com/anatolyonoprienko.html)(WSJ, 11/24/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/2/99, p.A1)
1996 May 28, Ukraine’s president, Leonid Kuchma, fired his prime minister, Yevhen Marchuk, in a dispute over economic reforms, and named ally Pavlo Lazarenko as prime minister.
(WSJ, 5/28/96, p. A-18)(SFC, 5/29/96, p.A8)
1996 Jun 3, A hepatitis epidemic has hospitalized nearly 3,000 residents of Sevastopol so far this year. All nuclear weapons have been transferred to Russia for dismantling. The US paid $267 mil for the removal.
(WSJ, 8/8/95, p. B6D) (WSJ, 8/8/95, p. A1)
1996 Jun 28, Pres. Leonid Kuchma pushed through parliament, called the Rada, a new constitution. It established a clear right to own private property, and Ukrainian as the only state language.
(WP. 6/29/96, p.A20)
1996 Jul 16, Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko escaped an assassination attempt. He proceeded to the Donbass coalfields where 200,000 miners were on strike.
(WSJ, 7/17/96, p.A1)
1996 Sep 2, The government planned to introduce its new currency, the hyrvna. The old karbovanets would be swappable for only 2 weeks.
(WSJ, 8/27/96, p.A10)
1996 Oct 24, Yeltsin of Russia and Kuchma of the Ukraine agreed to divide the Black Sea Fleet.
(WSJ, 10/25/96, p.A1)
1996 Nov 3, Yevhen Shcherban, Ukrainian businessman and politician, and his wife were assassinated at Donetsk Airport by several men posing as police officers. Prosecutors have stated the murder was intended to eliminate competition for control of Ukraine’s natural gas industry. In 2002, eight men were arrested and tried for the murder. All of them were found guilty, with three receiving life sentences.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevhen_Shcherban)(http://tinyurl.com/8xlflju)
1996 Ukrainian men had one of the highest infertility rates in the world, ever since the Chernobyl disaster 10 years ago. Nearly one of five Ukrainian babies dies shortly after birth, and there have been more deaths than births since 1990.
(G&M, 1/31/96, p.A-24)
1996-1998 Pavel Lazarenko was later accused of siphoning $72.1 million in public funds into a series of Swiss bank accounts during this period.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A16)
1997 May 24, In the Ukraine the first McDonald’s restaurant opened.
(SFEC, 5/25/97, p.A10)
1997 May 31, Russia and the Ukraine signed a friendship treaty. Boris Yeltsin traveled to Kiev to sign the treaty.
(SFEC, 6/1/97, p.A8)
1997 Jun 14, It was reported that a huge sinkhole in Dnepropetrovsk had swallowed houses, schools and a 9-story apartment. It was due to flash flooding and an underground river.
(SFC, 6/14/97, p.A11)
1997 Jun 19, Pres. Kuchma removed prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko under pressure from Western donors who saw him as an opponent to free-market policies. Lazarenko was accused of corruption. In 1998 Lazarenko was indicted by Swiss authorities on money-laundering charges.
(SFC, 6/20/97, p.A22)(SFEC, 12/20/98, p.A32)
1997 Jul 17, In the Ukraine the parliament confirmed Valery Pustovoitenko as prime minister. He was an ally of Pres. Kuchma and vowed to work with lawmakers.
(WSJ, 7/17/97, p.A1)
1997 Dec 17, A Ukrainian jetliner from Odessa, a Yakoviev 42, was missing as it approached the Greek city of Salonica with 70-71 people onboard. The wreckage was located near Fotina, Greece, on Dec 20, as a Greek military plane, searching for the wreckage, crashed north of Athens. All five people aboard the C-130 transport plane were killed.
(WSJ, 12/18/97, p.A1)(www.cnn.com/WORLD/9712/20/greece.plane.pm/)
1997 The Ukrainian film “A Friend of the Deceased" starred Alexandre Lazarev and Angelika Nevolina. It was directed by Vyacheslav Krishtofovich.
(SFC, 5/15/98, p.C3)
1997 Former Soviet republics (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova) formed Guuam to seek cooperation outside Russian influence.
(WSJ, 3/4/05, p.A13)
1998 Mar 24, Vasyl Koryak, mayor of Lubny in central Poltava, was badly wounded when gunmen opened fire on his car.
(SFC, 3/25/98, p.A11)
1998 Mar 29, Parliamentary elections gave the Communists about 121 of 450 seats.
(SFC, 4/1/98, p.A10)
1998 Mar, The government issued a warrant for Petro Kyrytchenko, a partner to Pavel Lazarenko in a money laundering operation.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A16)
1998 Apr 4, In the Ukraine a gas explosion at the Skochinsky coal mine outside Donetsk killed 63 men.
(SFEC, 4/5/98, p.A20)(AP, 4/4/08)
1998 Jul 17, In Eritrea a Ukrainian IL-78 transport plane crashed near Asmara and killed 9 people.
(SFC, 7/18/98, p.A14)
1998 Jul 28, The Ukraine faced a financial crises as $1 billion in bond payments came due and parliament rejected austerity measures.
(WSJ, 7/28/98, p.A1)
1998 Aug 12, Prime Minister Valery Pustovitenko called 1,500 executives to a civil defense base to solve the question of their debts. A previous summons had net 70 million, but was not sufficient to cover the $3.5 billion budget deficit.
(SFC, 8/14/98, p.A10)
1998 Sep 4, Ukraine clinched a $2.2 billion IMF loan and announced a de facto currency devaluation for its hryvnia to between 2.5 and 3.5 to the dollar.
(WSJ, 9/8/98, p.A23)
1998 Sep 9, The UN General Assembly elected Uruguay’s foreign minister as president for its 53rd session. Didier Opertiti replaced Hennadiy Udovenko of Ukraine.
(SFC, 9/10/98, p.C2)
1998 Sep 13, Victor Verloo (64), a Peace Corps volunteer from Sacramento, was stabbed to death by robbers in Chernihiv, north of Kiev.
(SFC, 9/16/98, p.A3)
1998 Former Ukraine prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko purchased the former Eddie Murphy California Bay Area mansion for $6.7 million.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A16)(SFC, 6/2/00, p.A19)
1998 Ukraine’s state-controlled Naftogaz energy company was formed. It soon became a fount of corruption.
(Econ, 12/20/14, p.82)
1999 Jan 19, From the Ukraine it was reported that the number of HIV cases had risen to between 38,000 and 110,000. In 1994 44 people tested positive.
(SFC, 1/19/99, p.A6)
1999 Jan, Former Prime Minister Lazarenko was detained by US authorities and transferred to a detention center in Dublin, Ca., to await a hearing on extradition charges filed by the Swiss government. Lazarenko maintained his affiliation with the Hromada Party and his position as candidate for presidency in the October elections.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 19, The Ukraine Parliament withdrew the immunity of former prime minister Lazarenko and issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of embezzlement and misuse of government funds.
(SFC, 2/23/99, p.A14)
1999 Mar 7, Ukraine restarted nuclear reactor No. 3 at Chernobyl following repairs that began Dec 15.
(SFC, 3/8/99, p.A16)
1999 Mar 25, Viacheslav Chornovil (61), prominent politician and former Soviet political prisoner, died in a car crash.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1999 Apr 1, In Zhytomyr, Ukraine, Anatoly Onoprienko was sentenced to death for the deaths of 52 men, women and children between 1989 and 1996. 43 of the killings occurred in a 6 month period.
(OTD)
1999 May 19, Ukrainian authorities on 19 May 1999 arrested four Russian citizens who were attempting to smuggle 20kg of “enriched uranium ore" to Western Europe.
(http://tinyurl.com/3cydhn)
1999 May 24, The Ukraine reported that it had lost $220 million in trade since the NATO war against Yugoslavia began. 90% of the Ukraine population was against the NATO bombing.
(SFC, 5/25/99, p.A8)
1999 May 24, A methane gas explosion in a mine killed 39 [50] and injured 48 in the Donetsk region.
(WSJ, 5/26/99, p.A1)(SFEC, 3/12/00, p.A17)
1999 Jun 18, In California Peter Kirichenko, a Ukrainian citizen, was arrested in Tiburon. He was wanted by Swiss authorities for aiding former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko in a money laundering scheme.
(SFEC, 6/20/99, p.C2)
1999 Jul, Pres. Kuchma and the parliament agreed to deploy 800 soldiers for peacekeeping in Kosovo with financial assistance from NATO.
(SFEC, 8/1/99, p.A20)
1999 Jul 31, The Ukraine and the US agreed to extend the nuclear weapon and ballistic missile dismantling program for 6 years.
(SFEC, 8/1/99, p.A20)
1999 Sep, Leonid Kuchma ordered his police and tax authorities to undertake a campaign of threats and intimidation to guarantee an election victory. Recordings of this were made public in 2001.
(SFC, 2/20/01, p.A9)
1999 Oct 2, Natalia Vitrenko of the leftist Progressive Socialist Party was wounded in a grenade attack at a campaign meeting in Inguletsk.
(WSJ, 10/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 31, Elections were held and Pres. Kuchma was favored. Kuchma came in 1st with 36.5% of the vote vs. Communist leader Petro Symonenko with 22.2%. A runoff was scheduled in 2 weeks.
(WSJ, 10/29/99, p.A1)(SFC, 11/1/99, p.A13)(SFC, 11/2/99, p.A14)
1999 Nov 14, Pres. Kuchma won a 2nd term by a 56% margin over Petro Symonenko with 97% of the ballots counted.
(SFC, 11/15/99, p.A17)
1999 Nov 26, Reactor No. 3, the functioning power plant at Chernobyl and site of the 1986 accident, reopened.
(SFC, 11/26/99, p.A22)(SFC, 11/27/99, p.A18)
1999 Dec, Pres. Kuchma abolished over 10,000 Soviet-era collective farms. He decreed that the land be divided among the farm workers. The plots averaged 6 to 7.5 acres and the owners had the right to rent the land but not to sell it.
(WSJ, 7/24/00, p.B19F)
1999 Victor Yuschenko became Ukraine’s prime minister and served to 2001. He managed to reverse the country’s economic decline.
(Econ, 10/30/04, p.27)
2000 Mar 11, A methane gas explosion at the Barakova mine on the eastern border killed at least 80 workers.
(SFEC, 3/12/00, p.A17)
2000 Mar 15, The IMF announced that Ukraine had provided false data on its currency reserves between 1996 and 1998 in order to get 3 loans approved.
(SFC, 3/16/00, p.A15)
2000 Apr 6, Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko won parliamentary approval for a 5-year plan to cut state bureaucracy, deregulate business, open up privatization efforts, create a private land market, lower taxes and improve tax collection.
(WSJ, 4/7/00, p.A15)
2000 May 18, Former Ukraine prime minister Pavel Lazarenko was indicted by a San Francisco grand jury for money laundering and transportation of stolen property. In 2003 he put up an $86 million bail and was confined to a SF apartment. In 2004 a federal judge in SF dismissed nearly half the charges against Lazarenko. On June 3, 2004, Lazarenko was convicted on 29 felony charges. His money laundering was guessed to be in excess of $40 million.
(SFC, 6/2/00, p.A19)(SSFC, 10/19/03, p.A25)(SFC, 5/8/04, p.B3)(SFC, 6/4/04, A3)
2000 cMay, Troops accidentally fired a missile into an apartment building in Kiev and 4 people were killed.
(SFC, 10/10/01, p.A20)
2000 Jun 5, Pres. Clinton met with Pres. Kuchma in Ukraine and Kuchma announced the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by Dec 15. Clinton pledged $80 million to help pay the $750 million cost to stabilize the sarcophagus of the ruined reactor.
(SFC, 6/6/00, p.A1)
2000 Jul 5, The Chernobyl nuclear plant drew pledges of $715 million from Western nations for a 5-year project to replace the protective tomb built to close off the 1986 nuclear accident.
(WSJ, 7/6/00, p.A1)
2000 Jul, Ukraine’s Pres. Kuchma authorized the sale of an advanced $100 million radar system to Iraq in violation of UN sanctions. Evidence of the sale emerged in 2002.
(SFC, 4/16/02, p.A7)(SFC, 9/24/02, p.A18)
2000 Aug 31, Pres. Kuchma declared 4 villages near Mykolaiv an ecological disaster zone due to illnesses of some 400 residents since July 4. Chemical poisoning from Soviet-era rocket fuel leaks was blamed.
(SFC, 9/1/00, p.D5)
2000 Sep 16, Hrihori Gongadze (31), journalist, disappeared in Kiev. He was an outspoken critic of the government and of high-level corruption. A beheaded body, believed to be his, was found in Nov. Gongadze was the founder of the Internet news site Ukrainian Truth. In 2001 the government announced that he was killed by criminals who were also murdered and that the killings had nothing to do with politics. Suspects in the murder were arrested in 2005. In 2005 a commission investigating the kidnapping and killing of Gongadze accused parliament's Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn of instigating the slaying. Findings stemmed from recordings in which voices resembling those of Lytvyn, former President Leonid Kuchma and other officials are heard allegedly conspiring against Gongadze. The trial of three former police officers charged with killing Gongadze opened in 2006. In 2008 a court in Kiev jailed three former police officers for between 12 and 13 years for the murder of Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze. In 2009 National Security Service agents arrested the fourth suspect, Olexiy Pukach, who was working as the chief of the Interior Ministry's surveillance department at the time of the killing.
(SFC, 11/17/00, p.D6)(SFC, 12/14/00, p.C4)(SFC, 5/16/01, p.D14)(SFC, 3/2/05, p.A3)(AP, 9/21/05)(AP, 1/10/06)(AFP, 3/15/08)(AP, 7/22/09)
2000 Dec 6, The last working reactor at Chernobyl was shut down due to a malfunction 9 days before a scheduled permanent shut down. It was later powered back up prior to the official shut down.
(SFC, 12/7/00, p.C10)(SFC, 12/15/00, p.D2)
2000 Dec 15, In Ukraine the last working nuclear plant at Chernobyl was shut down. It had recently undergone $300 million in safety improvements. The destroyed reactor, which contained up to 66 tons of melted nuclear fuel and 37 tons of radioactive dust, was still leaking radiation. A new sarcophagus was expected to cost $758 million.
(SFC, 12/15/00, p.D2)(SFC, 12/16/00, p.A22)
2000 Dr. Andrew Wilson, historian and analyst at the European Council on foreign relations, authored “The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation."
(www.amazon.com/Ukrainians-Unexpected-Dr-Andrew-Wilson/dp/0300083556)
2001 Jan 21, Nine miners died and 15 were injured in a gas explosion in the Donetsk coal region. 318 miners were killed in 2000.
(WSJ, 1/22/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 26, The 198-foot vessel Pamyat Merkuriya sank in the Black Sea and at least 14 people were killed. The ship was enroute to Yevpatoria, Ukraine, from Istanbul.
(SFC, 1/30/01, p.A11)
2001 Feb 6, Up to 5,000 protesters marched in Kiev and demanded the resignation of Pres. Kuchma. Kuchma’s voice on recent private recordings included an order for a journalist’s abduction and threats to a judge.
(SFC, 2/7/01, p.A14)
2001 Feb 11, Some 5-10 thousand protesters called for the resignation of Pres. Kuchma. Kuchma fired 2 top security officials amid the growing scandal of a journalist killed while investigating graft.
(SFC, 2/12/01, p.B1)(WSJ, 2/12/01, p.A1)
2001 Feb 12, Pres. Kuchma and Pres. Putin met at the Yuzmash rocket plant and agreed to reconnect their countries’ electricity grids and made 14 other agreements securing Russian orders from Ukrainian factories.
(SFC, 2/13/01, p.A10)
2001 Feb 13, Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s former Deputy Prime Minister and a principal opponent to Pres. Kuchma, was arrested on charges dating back to 1996 when she was head of United Energy Systems. Ms. Tymoshenko made her fortune in murky gas trades between Russia and the Ukraine in the early 1990s.
(SFC, 2/14/01, p.A14)(Econ, 10/6/07, p.59)
2001 Mar 8, Flooding in the Ukraine and northeastern Hungary left at least 5 people dead. Tens of thousands were driven from their homes as the Tisza and other Carpathian streams rose.
(WSJ, 3/9/01, p.A1)
2001 Mar 9, In Ukraine tens of thousands of demonstrators rioted in Kiev to force Pres. Kuchma from office.
(SFC, 3/10/01, p.A8)
2001 Mar 26, Pres. Kuchma fired his interior minister.
(WSJ, 3/27/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 26, In Ukraine the parliament voted 263-59 to dismiss Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko. A large crowd of his supporters called for the impeachment of Pres. Kuchma.
(SFC, 4/27/01, p.D2)
2001 May 3, US federal agents broke up a smuggling ring that brought hundreds of Ukrainians into the US through Mexico.
(WSJ, 5/4/01, p.A1)
2001 May 22, Pres. Kuchma planned to nominate Anatoly Kinakh (46), a close ally and industrialist, as prime minister.
(SFC, 5/23/01, p.C4)
2001 May 29, The Parliament confirmed Anatoly Kinakh as prime minister.
(SFC, 5/30/01, p.A12)
2001 Jun 23, Pope John Paul II began his 5-day visit to Ukraine, where the Greek Catholic Church had 5 million followers who observed Byzantine rites but were loyal to Rome. He hoped to mend a rift with the Eastern Orthodoxy.
(SFC, 6/22/01, p.A14)
2001 Jun 25, Pope John Paul II planned to visit Babi Yar where some 200,000 Jews and other Nazi victims are buried. Pope John Paul II visited Babi Yar, the site of a Nazi massacre of at least 100,000 Jews. [see 1941]
(SFC, 6/25/01, p.A8)(WSJ, 6/26/01, p.A1)
2001 Jul 3, TV director Ihor Alexandrov was beaten to death by unknown assailants in Slaviansk. In 2000 a European court on Human Rights had cleared him of charges for violating laws on campaign coverage.
(WSJ, 7/9/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/11/01, p.A8)
2001 Aug 19, A methane and coal dust explosion killed 36 miners at the Zasiadko mine in the Donetsk region.
(SFC, 8/20/01, p.A9)
2001 Sep 28, The Ukraine began military exercises with attacks planned against unmanned drones.
(SFC, 10/5/01, p.A17)
2001 Oct 4, A chartered Russian Tupelov-154 airplane crashed in to the Black Sea and all 78 people aboard were killed. The Sibir Airlines jet was bound to Novosibirsk from Tel Aviv. An accidental missile strike from Ukrainian military forces was suspected but denied by Ukraine officials. Pres. Putin said terrorists might have been responsible. Later evidence indicated that flight 1812 was hit by an S-200 missile. On Oct 12 Ukraine and Russia acknowledged that an errant missile was the probable cause. In 2003 Ukraine agreed to pay $200,000 for each Israeli killed.
(SFC, 10/6/01, p.A11)(WSJ, 11/21/03, p.A1)(www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/100501crash.shtml)
2001 Oct 24, Pres. Kuchma accepted the resignation of his defense minister and suspended all missile and anti-aircraft firing. He also apologized to Russia and Israel for the Oct 4 accident.
(SFC, 10/25/01, p.C2)
2001 Nov 28, A UN report on AIDS noted Ukraine as the 1st European nation to report 1% of its adults infected. Rapid spread was noted across Eastern Europe.
(WSJ, 11/29/01, p.A1)
2001 Ukraine's 2001 Census was the first census implemented by Ukraine as an independent nation. The census confirmed that Ukraine is loosing population at an alarming rate. Between 1989 and 2001, Ukraine's population declined from 51,706,700 to 48,457,100, which translates into a 6.1 percent decline. The decline was not uniform across the country.
(http://www.ukrweekly.com/old/archive/2003/020302.shtml)
2002 Jan 17, Sergei Belousov, co-editor of the Berdyansk Delovoi newspaper, suffered a concussion when his Toyota Land Cruiser steering failed. He and his wife reported on official corruption in the country.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A6)
2002 Jan 28, Tatyana Goriachova, co-editor of the Berdyansk Delovoi newspaper and wife of Sergei Belousov, was attacked with hydrochloric acid to her face.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A6)
2002 Mar 31, In Ukraine elections the pro-Western Our Ukraine led by former PM Viktor Yuschenko led with 23%. The Communist Party had 20%. Pres. Kuchma’s United Ukraine had 13% and expected 119 seats in parliament. The parties provide half the 450 sets of the parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada. Direct elections decide the other half.
(SFC, 4/1/02, p.A6)(SFC, 4/2/02, p.A6)(SFC, 4/3/02, p.A7)
2002 Apr 15, Evidence was made public that Pres. Kuchma in 2000 authorized the sale of an advanced $100 million radar system to Iraq in violation of UN sanctions.
(SFC, 4/16/02, p.A7)
2002 Jun, Computer hackers from around the world gathered in Odessa, Ukraine, for summit on trading tips and setting up rules for bilking targets.
(SSFC, 10/23/11, p.F2)
2002 Jul 7, In eastern Ukraine rescue workers found the bodies of 35 miners killed in one of two fires over the weekend in mines.
(AP, 7/7/02)(AP, 7/8/02)
2002 Jul 21, A methane gas explosion tore through a Ukrainian coal mine, killing at least six miners and leaving more than 28 missing.
(AP, 7/21/02)
2002 Jul 27, In Lviv, Ukraine, a fighter jet slammed onto the tarmac and sliced through a crowd watching an air show, killing 85 people and injured 116.
(AP, 7/28/02)(WSJ, 8/8/02, p.A1)
2002 Jul 31, In Ukraine a coal mine blast killed 19 miners, 3,557 underground.
(SFC, 8/1/02, p.A14)
2002 Sep 16, In Ukraine, some 15,000 demonstrators marched in Kiev and tens of thousands of others gathered in public squares around the country, demanding that President Leonid Kuchma resign or call new elections.
(AP, 9/16/02)
2002 Oct 12, In Ukraine tens of thousands of protesters laid out their charges against President Leonid Kuchma at a "people's tribunal", and opposition lawmakers said prosecutors promised to review their complaints.
(AP, 10/12/02)
2002 Oct 15, A judge opened a criminal case against embattled Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, a day after U.S. and British experts began investigating allegations that he approved the sale of a radar system to Iraq.
(AP, 10/15/02)
2002 Nov 16, Ukraine Pres. Leonid Kuchma fired the government of Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh and nominated Victor Yanukovych, governor of the Danetsk coal region, as PM.
(AP, 11/16/02)(SSFC, 11/17/02, p.A19)
2002 Nov 17, Ukraine Pres. Leonid Kuchma went to China seeking support for his request that U.N. inspectors verify that his government did not transfer radar systems to Iraq.
(AP, 11/17/02)
2002 Dec 23, In central Iran a Ukrainian An-140 aircraft, carrying Ukrainian and Russian aerospace scientists from Turkey, flew into a mountainside while preparing to land killing all 46 people on board. Airport officials said pilot "carelessness" caused the plane to crash.
(AP, 12/24/02)
2002 The Ukraine military offered a half-hour flight on the MiG-29 for $8,500.
(SFC, 9/13/02, p.A12)
2002 In Ukraine Dmytro Firtash and a partner formed EuroTransGas company and began making deals with central Asian countries. Some of those deals took business away from a powerful oligarch, Igor Makarov. Firtash made a series of lucrative gas deals from 2004 to 2008 through a company called RosUkrEnergo. In 2014 Ukraine's new government struck a deal on natural gas, depriving Firtash of a major revenue stream.
(NBC News, 1/25/20)
2002 A European firm won a $43 million settlement against the Ukraine state in a dispute over an oil-refinery contract. Ukraine refused to pay and the company seized 2 Ruslan transport planes, one in Canada and one in Brussels.
(WSJ, 1/19/05, p.A1)
2002 Semion Mogilevich (b.1946), a Ukrainian businessman, and Igor Fisherman were indicted in Philadelphia on charges of money laundering and securities fraud in connection with the collapse of YBM Magnex, Inc. in which investors lost some $150 million. In 2006 Mogilevich was under investigation for possible links to natural gas deals between Russia and Ukraine.
(WSJ, 12/22/06, p.A11)
2002-2004 The US funneled $57.8 million to the Ukraine to support of pro-Democracy activities.
(SSFC, 12/19/04, p.A3)
2003 Jan 18, Serhiy Naboka (47), one of Ukraine's best-known journalists, and a reporter for a U.S.-funded radio station, was found dead in his hotel room.
(AP, 1/18/03)
2003 Apr 28, Ukraine's Pres. Leonid Kuchma signed a bill prohibiting media censorship amid claims by journalists that his administration is meddling in their work.
(AP, 4/28/03)
2003 May 26, An airplane carrying 62 Spanish peacekeepers crashed into a mountain in northeastern Turkey while making its third attempt to land in thick fog. All 75 people aboard were killed. The Yak-42 was chartered from a Ukrainian company. On Jan 11, 2016, Spain's defense ministry took political responsibility for the crash.
(AP, 5/26/03)(WSJ, 5/27/03, p.A1)(AFP, 1/11/17)
2003 May, Ukraine reformed its tax code along Russian lines with a 13% top marginal rate.
(WSJ, 7/11/03, p.A8)
2003 Oct 22, Tensions spiraled between Ukraine and Russia over a small island controlling access to disputed waters. Pres. Leonid Kuchma cut short a Latin American trip to return home to deal with the issue. The dispute centers on construction of a dike from the Russian mainland out into the Kerch Strait that connects the Black and Azov Seas.
(AP, 10/23/03)
2003 Oct 28, In southern Iraq 7 Ukrainian peacekeepers were wounded when militants attacked their patrol. 1,650 Ukrainian troops served in the Polish-led stabilization force.
(AP, 10/29/03)
2003 Dec 17, In the Ukraine a bus veered off a mountain road and plunged into a deep ditch on the Crimean peninsula, killing 17 people and injuring 19 others.
(AP, 12/18/03)
2003 Dec 24, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, gave initial approval to constitutional amendments allowing the president to be elected by the legislature rather than by popular vote.
(AP, 12/24/03)(WPR, 3/04, p.28)
2003 Dec 30, Ukraine's Constitutional Court ruled that President Leonid Kuchma can run for a third five-year term next year.
(AP, 12/30/03)
2003 Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma authored a book called “Ukraine Is Not Russia."
(Econ, 2/26/11, p.58)
2004 Mar 4, Ukrainian authorities pulled a private station off the air, four days after it began broadcasting U.S.-funded Radio Liberty's shortwave programming.
(AP, 3/4/04)
2004 Apr 9, Investigators in the Ukraine reported that the bodies of at least 50 people believed to have been killed by Nazi troops have been unearthed from a mass grave in the Crimean peninsula, 550 miles southeast of Kiev.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Jul 19, In eastern Ukraine a coal mine methane gas explosion killed at least 34 miners near Donetsk.
(AP, 7/20/05)
2004 Aug 2, Ukraine's prime minister called for reducing the country's troop contingent in Iraq, openly disagreeing with top defense officials who want to increase the force.
(AP, 8/2/04)
2004 Aug 8, President Leonid Kuchma, joined by other top officials, attended the startup of nuclear reactor No. 2 at the Khmelnitskyi plant in western Ukraine.
(AP, 8/8/04)
2004 Oct 23, In Ukraine tens of thousands of people supporting opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko rallied in Kiev demanding that next week's presidential election be free and fair.
(AP, 10/23/04)
2004 Oct 31, Ukrainians cast ballots in a presidential vote. The opposition complained of violations just hours into the polling. Key contenders included pro-Russian PM Viktor Yanukovych and former PM Viktor Yushchenko, a reformist candidate. Yushchenko won by .5%, but failed to get a majority setting up a runoff vote for Nov 21. Observers from NATO and Europe said the balloting did not meet democratic standards.
(AP, 10/31/04)(AP, 11/1/04)(WSJ, 11/19/04, p.A12)
2004 Nov 6, In Ukraine tens of thousands of supporters of presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko filled Kiev's main square, joining nationwide protests over alleged election fraud.
(AP, 11/6/04)
2004 Nov 10, After a delayed final tally reformist opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko edged the prime minister in the first round of Ukraine's presidential vote.
(AP, 11/10/04)
2004 Nov 21, Ukrainians cast ballots in a presidential run-off.
(AP, 11/21/04)
2004 Nov 22, Ukraine’s central electoral commission said that with 99.38 percent of polling stations reporting, PM Viktor Yanukovych had secured 49.42 percent of the vote compared to 46.7 for his Western-leaning rival, Viktor Yushchenko. Tens of thousands of demonstrators jammed downtown Kiev in freezing temperatures, denouncing Ukraine's presidential runoff election as fraudulent and chanting the name of their reformist candidate. The color orange spread as the symbol of protest and the movement began to be called the Orange Revolution.
(AP, 11/22/04)(WSJ, 11/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Nov 23, Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko declared victory in Ukraine's presidential election and took a symbolic oath of office. About 200,000 supporters gathered in the capital to protest alleged election fraud. He won a court-ordered revote in December 2004.
(AP, 11/23/04)(AP, 11/23/05)
2004 Nov 24, Ukraine's election commission declared Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin-backed prime minister, as winner. Ukraine's opposition called for a new round of presidential elections to resolve the political crisis gripping the nation. EU leaders, alleging fraud, warned of "consequences" if the poll was not reviewed.
(AP, 11/24/04)
2004 Nov 25, Ukraine's Supreme Court prohibited making the results of the nation's disputed presidential election official until it considers an appeal.
(AP, 11/25/04)
2004 Nov 27, Ukraine's parliament declared invalid the disputed presidential election that triggered a week of growing street protests and legal maneuvers, raising the possibility that a new vote could be held.
(AP, 11/27/04)
2004 Nov 28, Ukraine’s outgoing President Leonid Kuchma called on opposition supporters to end their four-day blockade of government buildings, saying compromise is needed to solve the political crisis.
(AP, 11/28/04)
2004 Nov 30, Opposition supporters tried to rush through the doors of the parliament building after Ukrainian lawmakers appeared to backslide from supporting measures that would overturn the results of last week's disputed presidential election.
(AP, 11/30/04)
2004 Dec 1, Ukraine's parliament brought down the government of PM Viktor Yanukovych with a no-confidence motion in a show of the opposition's strength. The outgoing president called for an entirely new presidential election to be held to resolve the spiraling political crisis.
(AP, 12/1/04)
2004 Dec 3, Ukraine’s Supreme Court overturned the results of the disputed presidential elections and ordered a new runoff by Dec 26.
(SFC, 12/4/04, p.A1)
2004 Dec 8, Ukraine's parliament adopted electoral and constitutional changes in a compromise intended to defuse the nation's political crisis.
(AP, 12/8/04)
2004 Dec 9, In Kiev, Ukraine, opposition protestors lifted their 2-week siege.
(SFC, 12/10/04, p.A3)
2004 Dec 11, Doctors in Austria determined that Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko had been poisoned with dioxin, which caused the severe disfigurement and partial paralysis of his face.
(AP, 12/11/05)
2004 Dec 27, Ukraine election officials said opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko won 51.99 percent to 44.19 percent for Moscow-backed PM Viktor Yanukovych. Supporters of the pro-Russian PM vowed to challenge the results in court.
(AFP, 12/28/04)
2004 Dec 27, Ukrainian Transport Minister Heorhiy Kirpa, a supporter of the trailing candidate in the presidential election, was found dead in his house from a gunshot wound. Opposition figures claimed that Kirpa allocated trains to ferry Yanukovych supporters to vote at multiple polling sites in Nov. 21 presidential balloting that eventually was annulled by the Ukraine Supreme Court.
(AP, 12/27/04)
2004 Dec 31, Ukrainian PM Viktor Yanukovych resigned, acknowledging that he had little hope of reversing the election victory of his Western-leaning rival, Viktor Yushchenko.
(AP, 12/31/05)
2004 Inflation in the Ukraine hit a 4-year high of 12.3%.
(WSJ, 3/28/05, p.A14)
2004 The Ukraine Kryvorizhstal steelworks was privatized at half its market value to two of the country’s richest men, Victor Pinchuk, the son-in-law of Pres. Kuchma, and Rinat Akhmetov.
(Econ, 10/30/04, p.27)(Econ, 12/18/04, p.102)
2005 Jan 1, Ukraine was forecast for 7% annual GDP growth with a population at 46.9 million and GDP per head at $1,630.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.90)
2005 Jan 3, Ukraine gave in and agreed to pay Turkmenistan a third more for natural gas following a shut-off.
(WSJ, 1/4/05, p.A1)
2005 Jan 9, In Iraq 7 Ukrainian soldiers and one Kazakh serving with the U.S.-led coalition were killed in an explosion while loading bombs that could be used by warplanes.
(AP, 1/9/05)
2005 Jan 10, Ukraine's Election Commission declared Viktor Yushchenko the winner of the presidential vote.
(AP, 1/10/06)
2005 Jan 11, The Ukrainian parliament called for an immediate withdrawal of the nation's peacekeepers from Iraq. The vote was non-binding but reflected growing national dismay over the mission.
(AP, 1/11/05)
2005 Jan 23, Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in as president of Ukraine.
(AP, 1/23/06)
2005 Jan 24, Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko, visiting Moscow on a trip to mend relations after a bitter election campaign, appointed top ally Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister.
(AP, 1/24/05)
2005 Feb 4, The Ukraine Parliament unanimously approved fiery opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko as PM, along with her government's new program to raise living standards, tackle corruption and set Ukraine on a westward course.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005 Feb 4, A Ukraine intelligence official said secret indictments and arrests have taken place against at least 6 arms dealers accused of selling nuclear capable missiles to China and Iran.
(SFC, 2/4/05, p.A5)
2005 Feb 22, In Belgium a Nato summit announced a 12-year program to destroy Soviet-era weapons in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Pres. Viktor Yushchenko attended.
(WSJ, 2/22/05, p.A1)
2005 Feb 26, The Ukraine cabinet stripped former president Leonid Kuchma of a plush and widely criticized retirement package that featured a monthly pension, two cars, a government home and much more.
(AP, 2/26/05)
2005 Mar 1, Ukraine’s top security body decided to Ukrainian troops from Iraq.
(SFC, 3/2/05, p.A12)
2005 Mar 4, Ukraine's former interior minister was found dead of an apparent suicide, just before he was to meet with prosecutors for questioning about the 2000 slaying of an investigative journalist. The minister had two shots to the head.
(AP, 3/4/05)(Econ, 4/2/11, p.50)
2005 Mar 12, Ukraine withdrew 150 servicemen from Iraq, starting a gradual pullout that officials have said will be completed by October.
(AP, 3/12/05)
2005 Mar 18, In Kiev prosecutors said Ukrainian weapons dealers smuggled 18 nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran and China in 2001 during former President Leonid Kuchma's administration.
(AP, 3/18/05)
2005 Apr 6, A joint session of US Congress listened to Ukrainian Pres. Yushchenko as he called for an end to trade barriers and a new era in US-Ukraine relations.
(SFC, 4/7/05, p.A8)
2005 May 12, Austrian authorities reported the break up a major human trafficking ring led by Romanian, Moldovan and Ukrainian criminals who smuggled more than 5,000 East Europeans to the West, many enduring horrific conditions in tiny hiding spaces in cars, trucks and trailers.
(AP, 5/12/05)
2005 May 20, A federal judge in SF tossed out half of the convictions against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko in a multi-count money-laundering and fraud verdict, but refused to grant a new trial.
(AP, 5/21/05)
2005 May 26, The US and Ukraine signed an agreement to safeguard nuclear waste and upgrade storage facilities in Ukraine.
(SFC, 5/27/05, p.A3)
2005 Jun 2, In southern Ukraine a freight train crashed into a passenger bus at a railroad crossing, killing 14 people. In a separate accident, a train crashed into a car at another crossing point, killing three people.
(AP, 6/2/05)
2005 Jun 13, Ukraine prosecutors said authorities had arrested the former head of Ukraine's peacekeeping troops in Iraq on charges of smuggling.
(AP, 6/13/05)
2005 Aug 12, Leaders of Georgia and Ukraine called for an alliance that would champion democracy in the former Soviet lands.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 28, A Jewish student was attacked by 7 young men near the Central Synagogue School in Kiev, where he studied. He remained in a coma after 2 days and Ukraine's Pres. Yushchenko condemned the brutal beating and ordered senior officials to take personal control of the case.
(AP, 8/30/05)
2005 Sep 5, In the Ukraine Oleksandr Zinchenko, a close aide to President Viktor Yushchenko who was a chief organizer of the "Orange Revolution" protests, said he had resigned from the government because of systemic corruption.
(AP, 9/6/05)
2005 Sep 8, Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko dismissed his Cabinet amid swirling allegations of corruption, saying members of the fragile coalition formed after last year's Orange Revolution had turned on one another.
(AP, 9/8/05)
2005 Sep 20, Ukraine’s Pres. Viktor Yushchenko failed to win support for his candidate as premier. Yuri Yekhanurov, a middle-of-the-road technocrat and ally of the president, won 223 votes, three short of the required majority in the 450-seat assembly.
(AP, 9/20/05)
2005 Sep 22, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko forged an awkward alliance with Viktor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions, his archrival and Orange Revolution enemy, to get his choice for new PM through parliament. Parliament approved Yuriy Yekhanurov with 289 votes.
(AP, 9/22/05)
2005 Oct 7-2005 Oct 8, More than 330 school children in western Ukraine were hospitalized with food poisoning, including four who were in critical condition. A preliminary investigation showed that the source of infection as a dysentery bacteria in kefir, a popular drink made of fermented milk.
(AP, 10/8/05)
2005 Oct 14, President Viktor Yushchenko dismissed Ukraine's top prosecutor less than a week after he launched investigations against a presidential ally, deepening the confusion in the former Soviet republic.
(AP, 10/14/05)
2005 Oct 23, Pope Benedict XVI named five new saints at the close of a 3-week Synod of Bishops. They included: Josef Bilczewski, archbishop of Lviv, who was greatly admired by Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Jews alike during World War and the Rev. Zygmunt Gorazdowski, who founded the Congregation for the Sisters of St. Joseph to care for the sick and poor.
(AP, 10/23/05)
2005 Oct 24, NATO pledged to help Ukraine push through military reforms seen as essential to prepare the country for membership in the Western alliance, a prospect viewed with concern in Russia.
(AP, 10/24/05)
2005 Oct 24, Ukraine auctioned a 93% stake in Kryvorizhstal, its largest steel mill, to Mittal Steel, the world’s biggest steelmaker, for $4.8 billion.
(Econ, 10/29/05, p.50)
2005 Nov 27, Pirates freed a Ukrainian cargo ship seized nearly 40 days ago off the coast of Somalia. The Panahia and its 22 crew members were seized Oct 18. It was not immediately clear if the $700,000 ransom demanded by the pirates had been paid.
(AP, 11/27/05)
2005 Dec 2, In Kiev 9 presidents from Baltic and Black Sea nations pledged to strengthen democracy in a region traditionally considered Russia's neighborhood. They included Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Slovenia, Romania and the Ukraine.
(AP, 12/02/05)
2005 Dec 3, Ukraine reported its first outbreak of bird flu, discovered among some 1,500 dead chickens and geese in the Black Sea region of Crimea.
(AP, 12/03/05)
2005 Dec 8, Ukraine said it had detected the highly pathogenic type of bird flu that is dangerous to humans, the strain known as H5N1. The September outbreak was located in several villages in the Crimean peninsula where about 2,500 birds died within hours.
(AP, 12/08/05)
2005 Dec 20, Ukraine began pulling its remaining 876 troops out of Iraq, the defense ministry said, making it the latest nation to wind down its presence in the U.S.-led coalition.
(AP, 12/20/05)
2005 Dec 27, Ukraine and Bulgaria said all their troops had left Iraq. Poland said it would remain but reduce its number of troops by 600 next year.
(AP, 12/27/05)
2005 Dec 29, Russia bought up gas supplies from Turkmenistan to prevent Ukraine from getting them. Russia was demanding a quadruple increase in gas prices.
(WSJ, 12/30/05, p.A1)
2005 Dec 31, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's state-owned natural gas monopoly to supply Ukraine with natural gas at the current price for three months, if the government in Kiev immediately agreed to a big price hike to take effect later.
(AP, 12/31/05)
2005 Marina Lewycka (b.1946), a British writer of Ukrainian origin, authored “A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian." The novel was hailed as one of the funniest of the year.
(Econ, 4/21/07, p.95)
2006 Jan 1, Russia's natural gas monopoly halted sales to Ukraine in a price dispute and began reducing pressure in transmission lines that also carry substantial supplies to western Europe. Supplies of natural gas to Poland have been hit by cuts imposed by Russia on the amount of gas entering the pipeline system in neighbouring Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/1/06)(AFP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 2, Russia's state-controlled natural gas monopoly accused Ukraine of diverting about $25 million worth of Russian gas intended for other customers, a day after Moscow halted deliveries to Kiev in a price dispute whose effects were spreading across Europe.
(AP, 1/2/06)
2006 Jan 2, A heavily-criticized Russia promised to restore full gas supplies to Europe after Germany warned that its dispute with Ukraine over deliveries could hurt its long-term credibility as an energy supplier.
(AP, 1/2/06)
2006 Jan 3, Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to resume talks on resolving a dispute over the price of natural gas that has reverberated across the continent and left Ukraine cut off from its supplies.
(AP, 1/3/06)
2006 Jan 4, The Russian and Ukrainian natural gas companies agreed on a plan to resume gas shipments to Ukraine that allowed both sides to claim victory after a commercial and political dispute that had raised fears of gas shortages in Europe.
(AP, 1/4/06)
2006 Jan 10, Ukraine’s Parliament fired the Cabinet because of a new deal with Russia that nearly doubled what Ukraine pays for natural gas. PM Yuri Yekhanurov and the justice minister, however, said the vote was nonbinding and vowed that the current Cabinet would continue working.
(AP, 1/10/06)
2006 Jan 13, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said that his country should produce its own nuclear fuel for power plants.
(AP, 1/13/06)
2006 Jan 23, The US Trade Representative's Office said a 2nd layer of sanctions on Ukraine has been removed because of that country's progress in fighting piracy of US music and films.
(AP, 1/23/06)
2006 Jan 25, An Arctic weather front wreaked more havoc across a wide swath of eastern Europe, killing 53 people overnight in Ukraine alone and severely disrupted transport networks in half-a-dozen countries.
(AFP, 1/25/06)
2006 Feb 2, Russia and Ukraine announced the signing of an agreement finalizing their Jan 4 compromise on natural gas prices.
(WSJ, 2/3/06, p.A10)
2006 Feb 14, A senior Russian official said Russia will not pay more to base its Black Sea Fleet in a Ukrainian port, rebuffing Ukrainian demands and setting the stage for the latest dispute between the ex-Soviet neighbors.
(AP, 2/14/06)
2006 Feb 17, David Sampson, America’s Deputy Sec. of Commerce, announced in Kiev that the US now recognized Ukraine as a market economy.
(Econ, 11/4/06, p.86)
2006 Mar 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said new customs rules imposed by Ukraine to tighten its border with Moldova's breakaway region violate a 1997 agreement and are an attempt to pressure the separatist Russian-speaking enclave.
(AP, 3/9/06)
2006 Mar 26, Ukrainians cast ballots in a parliamentary election that could tip this divided ex-Soviet republic back toward Russia just 16 months after the Orange Revolution helped put it on a westward course.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 27, In Ukraine early election results showed pro-Russia party led by Viktor Yanukovych taking the largest number of votes, followed by the president's former ally, Yulia Tymoshenko. President Viktor Yushchenko's party was a distant third, a stinging rebuke to his West-leaning administration. Yanukovych's party, which has pledged to make Russian a second state language, drop plans to join NATO and restore frayed ties with Moscow, was dominating in the Russian-speaking east and south.
(AP, 3/27/06)
2006 Mar 28, Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko met separately with both his estranged Orange Revolution ally and an old pro-Moscow adversary as he sought to form a coalition after most voters rejected his party in weekend parliamentary elections.
(AP, 3/28/06)
2006 Apr 13, The three parties that were central to Ukraine's Orange Revolution signed a protocol aimed at advancing the formation of a coalition government and ending their wrangling after last month's elections.
(AP, 4/13/06)
2006 Apr 18, Greenpeace said in a new report that more than 90,000 people were likely to die of cancers caused by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, countering a United Nations report that predicted the death toll would be around 4,000.
(AP, 4/18/06)
2006 Apr 22, In eastern Ukraine homemade bombs exploded in lockers at two supermarkets, wounding as many as 14 people.
(AP, 4/22/06)
2006 Apr 22, Two British scientists reported that the long-term effects of the Chernobyl disaster could cause up to 66,000 extra deaths from cancer, 15 times more than UN officials predicted last year. Their report was titled "The Other Report on Chernobyl."
(AFP, 4/22/06)
2006 Apr 24, The annual Goldman Environmental Prizes were awarded in San Francisco. The winners included Craig Williams (58) for helping to persuade Congress to order the Defense Dept. to consider alternatives to incinerating chemical weapons; Tarcisio Feitosa (35) of Brazil for his campaign against rampant logging; Olya Melen (26) of Ukraine for her suits forcing the government to scale back a large canal project impacting wetlands; Yu Xiaogang (35) of China for his reports on damages caused by new dams; Silas Siakor (36) of Liberia for his documentation showing how logging was used to fund civil war; and Anne Kajir of Papua New Guinea for her work to get reimbursements from logging companies to peasants.
(WSJ, 4/24/06, p.B7)
2006 May 19, Ukraine cultural figures and celebrities criticized efforts to grant the Russian language special status, calling it an act of war against the Ukrainian language. Council officials said their decision is based on a European charter, which was ratified by the Ukrainian parliament in 2003, that protects regional and minority languages.
(AP, 5/19/06)
2006 May 21, In SF some 62,000 runners participated in the annual Bay to Breakers race. Gilbert Okari (27) of Kenya won in 34 minutes and 20 seconds. Among the women Ukrainian Tetyana Hladyr won in 39:09. Mayor Newsom finished the 7.46 miles in 59:04.
(SFC, 5/22/06, p.A1)
2006 Jun 11, Teams of veterinarians were sent to destroy domestic poultry in northern Ukraine after the first appearance of bird flu in the region.
(Reuters, 6/12/06)
2006 Jun 11, US troops sent to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea to prepare for joint war games left Ukraine after two weeks of protests organized by pro-Russian parties prevented them from carrying out their mission.
(AP, 6/12/06)
2006 Jun 21, The parties behind Ukraine's Orange Revolution agreed to form a coalition government, ending three months of tense talks to preserve a pro-Western government that has sought to shed Russia's influence.
(AP, 6/21/06)
2006 Jun 22, Parties backing the "Orange Revolution" agreed to form a coalition government to keep the pro-Western administration on course for bringing Ukraine out of Russia's shadow and into the European mainstream.
(AP, 6/22/06)
2006 Jun 29, Ukraine's opposition party prevented members of a newly formed ruling coalition from taking their seats in parliament, stopping a vote on returning ousted PM Yulia Tymoshenko to her former job.
(AP, 6/29/06)
2006 Jul 6, Ukraine's pro-Russian opposition ended a 10-day parliament blockade and lawmakers elected a speaker. The pro-Western coalition was sent into a tailspin by a ballot that in a surprise move saw its smallest faction, the Socialists, join with pro-Russian parties to elect its leader Olexander Moroz as speaker.
(AP, 7/6/06)
2006 Jul 11, Ukraine's newly created pro-Russian governing coalition proposed Viktor Yanukovych, a bitter rival of President Viktor Yushchenko, as the next prime minister, an appointment that would mark a humiliating defeat for the president.
(AP, 7/11/06)
2006 Jul 29, Marathon talks to end Ukraine's political paralysis broke off without an agreement between President Viktor Yushchenko and the pro-Russian parliamentary majority that has nominated his former Orange Revolution rival as prime minister.
(AP, 7/29/06)
2006 Aug 3, Ukrainian Pres. Viktor Yushchenko nominated former foe Viktor Yanukovych for prime minister after Yanukovych signed a memorandum on national unity.
(SFC, 8/3/06, p.A3)
2006 Aug 4, The Ukraine Parliament named Viktor Yanukovych prime minister. His fraud-tainted 2004 presidential victory was turned back by the Orange Revolution.
(AP, 8/4/06)
2006 Aug 22, A Russian passenger jet with at least 170 people aboard crashed in Ukraine after sending a distress signal. The Pulkovo airlines Tupolev 154, en route from the Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa to St. Petersburg, crashed near the Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
(AP, 8/22/06)
2006 Sep 14, Ukraine’s pro-Russia premier suspended a bid to join NATO.
(WSJ, 9/15/06, p.A1)
2006 Sep 20, In eastern Ukraine a methane blast ripped through a coal mine, killing 13 miners and injuring 36 others.
(AP, 9/20/06)
2006 Oct 14, Ukrainian nationalist fighters who battled both Soviet and Nazi forces during World War II rallied in their country's capital, demanding the same financial and moral recognition as Red Army veterans.
(AP, 10/14/06)
2006 Oct 18, In Kiev Steven Spielberg and Victor Pinchuk hosted the premiere of "Spell Your Name," a film by director Sergey Bukovsky on the Holocaust in Ukraine.
(www.spielbergfilms.com/general/1098)
2006 Oct 19, Four ministers from President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party resigned after the collapse of talks to create a broad ruling coalition in the ex-Soviet state.
(AP, 10/19/06)
2006 Nov 14, In Ukraine Bohdan Datsko, director of a Christmas tree ornament factory, was shot to death in the western city of Lviv in what authorities said was the second attack on an executive there in less than a month.
(AP, 11/14/06)
2006 Nov 28, The Ukraine Parliament adopted a bill recognizing the Soviet-era forced famine as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.
(AP, 11/28/06)
2006 Dec 1, Ukraine lawmakers fired the foreign minister and interior minister, setting the stage for a legal battle between the president and the premier.
(AP, 12/1/06)
2006 Dec 22, In Ukraine Russia’s Pres. Putin and Pres. Yushchenko oversaw the signing of numerous bilateral accords. Putin assured his Ukrainian counterpart that Moscow wants good relations, in a meeting that both leaders presented as a break from the strained relationship of the past.
(AP, 12/22/06)
2006 Askold Krushelnycky authored “An Orange Revolution: A Personal Journey Through Ukrainian History."
(Econ, 5/6/06, p.84)
2006 Anders Aslund and Michael McFaul edited “Revolution in Orange: The Origins of Ukraine’s Democratic Breakthrough."
(Econ, 5/6/06, p.84)
2007 Jan 17, Yevgeny Kushnaryov (55), described as "the right-hand man" to Ukraine's pro-Russian PM, Viktor Yanukovych, died from his wounds one day after being shot by one of his hunting companions.
(www.alertnet.org/thenews/pictures/MOS11.htm)
2007 Jan 18, Borys Tarasyuk, Ukraine's foreign minister, accused the Cabinet of PM Yanukovych of cutting off funds to his ministry, leaving it unable to pay its employees or contribute dues to international organizations.
(AP, 1/19/07)
2007 Jan 25, Ukraine’s PM Yanukovych said that he is working to complete a pipeline to carry Caspian-region oil directly to the EU.
(WSJ, 1/27/06, p.A4)
2007 Jan 30, Borys Tarasyuk, Ukraine's pro-Western foreign minister, resigned saying a monthlong struggle between him and the government dominated by a Russia-leaning party risked damaging the country's international reputation.
(AP, 1/30/07)
2007 Mar 27, In Kiev, Ukraine, a Russian businessman allied with Ukraine's president was killed by a sniper as he was escorted from a courthouse during a break in his extortion trial.
(AP, 3/28/07)
2007 Apr 2, Ukraine’s president called early elections for May 27 amid a standoff with the pro-Russian premier, who vowed to fight what he called a coup.
(WSJ, 4/3/07, p.A1)
2007 Apr 3, Thousands of Ukrainian protesters streamed into the capital in the most serious confrontation between the prime minister and the president since the two men faced off during the Orange Revolution.
(AP, 4/3/07)
2007 Apr 4, Thousands of supporters of Ukraine's Russian-leaning prime minister marched to the office of the pro-Western president, protesting a presidential order to hold early elections.
(AP, 4/4/07)
2007 Apr 7, Thousands of supporters of Ukrainian PM Viktor Yanukovych rallied for a fifth day in the streets of Kiev, calling for stability amid a political crisis over the president's dissolution of parliament.
(AP, 4/7/07)
2007 Apr 14, The Egyptian state news agency MENA said that Neo-Nazis had attacked an Egyptian diplomat in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The Ukrainian government has said it deeply regrets the incident.
(Reuters, 4/14/07)
2007 Apr 17, Egypt launched EgyptSat 1, its first remote sounding satellite, from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The spacecraft was jointly developed by Egypt's National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences and the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Ukraine. Israeli officials suspected it to be a spy satellite. In 2010 ground-controllers lost it.
(http://claudelafleur.qc.ca/Spacecrafts-2007.html)(Econ, 10/30/10, p.50)
2007 Apr 25, Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko pushed back the date of snap parliamentary elections until June 24. The move was seen as a conciliatory gesture as the Constitutional Court began deliberations on the legality of his decree dissolving parliament.
(AP, 4/25/07)
2007 May 4, Ukraine's president and prime minister reached agreement on holding early parliamentary elections in a bid to end a political standoff between the rival leaders.
(AP, 5/4/07)
2007 May 7, A large explosion in Ukraine knocked out of service one of the main pipelines which carries Siberian gas through Ukraine to Germany and other EU clients. Shifting soil led to a break in the pipeline.
(AP, 5/7/07)(AP, 5/8/07)
2007 May 17, In Ukraine Petro Balabuyev (75), a lead designer of the world's largest aircraft, the An-225, died.
(AP, 5/17/07)
2007 May 26, In Ukraine several thousand interior troops streamed to Kiev, strengthening President Viktor Yushchenko's hand in a bitter dispute with the nation's prime minister that stoked up fears of violence.
(AP, 5/26/07)
2007 May 27, Ukraine's feuding president and prime minister agreed to hold an early parliamentary election on Sept. 30, defusing a crisis that threatened to escalate into violence when the president sent troops streaming toward the capital.
(AP, 5/27/07)
2007 Jun 7, PepsiCo Inc., the nation's second biggest soft drink company, and an affiliated Midwest-based beverage bottler said they will pay $542 million for an 80% stake in Sandora LLC, a Ukraine-based juice company.
(AP, 6/7/07)
2007 Jun 19, It was reported that political troubles in the Ukraine were being aggravated by soaring bread prices as the worst drought in a century hit the region.
(WSJ, 6/19/07, p.A1)
2007 Jun 28, The European Commission said all Indonesian airlines and several from Russia, Ukraine and Angola will be banned from flying to the EU due to safety concerns.
(AP, 6/28/07)
2007 Jul 17, In western Ukraine a train carrying yellow phosphorus derailed, releasing a cloud of toxic gas into the air over 14 villages. 20 people were hospitalized and hundreds evacuated.
(AP, 7/17/07)
2007 Jul 18, A Ukraine bus taking vacationers to the Black Sea overturned when its brakes failed, killing six people and injuring 46.
(AP, 7/19/07)
2007 Jul 23, Israeli police said 9 Israelis suspected of trafficking in organs and humans have been arrested and remain in custody. The case was opened when an Israeli woman filed a police complaint charging that she was not paid after her kidney was removed in Ukraine.
(AP, 7/23/07)
2007 Jul 26, Turkish police arrested Maksym Yastremskiy (24), a Ukrainian data-theft suspect. The US Secret Service had been investigating him since 2004. Losses to US individuals from identity theft thieves, online and offline, totaled $49 billion in 2006.
(WSJ, 8/10/07, p.A6)
2007 Sep 17, Ukrainian officials signed a $505 million contract with a French-led consortium for construction of a new shelter for the Chernobyl reactor, the site of the word's worst nuclear accident.
(AP, 9/17/07)
2007 Sep 30, Ukrainians began voting in an early parliamentary election meant to bring an end to a months-long political standoff between the nation's two feuding leaders. Victor Yushchenko’s party earned only about 16% of the parliamentary vote. PM Viktor Yanukovych, had about 30% of the vote. Yulia Tymoshenko’s bloc was leading with 33%.
(AP, 9/30/07)(AP, 10/1/07)
2007 Oct 3, President Viktor Yushchenko ordered Ukraine's feuding parties to strike a deal on a post-election government, a move likely to aggravate a political deadlock that has stalled economic reforms. With more than 99% of the vote counted, Regions Party had 34.3% and its Communist Party ally 5.4. The Tymoshenko bloc had polled 30.8 and Our Ukraine 14.2%.
(Reuters, 10/3/07)
2007 Oct 10, Ministers from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine signed a deal to build an oil pipeline linking the Black and Baltic seas.
(WSJ, 10/11/07, p.A18)
2007 Oct 13, At least 15 people were killed in a natural gas blast that partly destroyed an apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk.
(AFP, 10/13/07)(AP, 10/15/07)
2007 Nov 11, A severe storm broke the Volganeft-139, a small Russian oil tanker, in two in the Strait of Kerch, spilling at least 560,000 gallons of fuel into the strait between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. A Russian official said it was an "environmental disaster." 8 seamen were left missing. Two freighters nearby also sank under 18-foot waves in storm. As many as 10 ships sank or ran aground in the area.
(AP, 11/11/07)(Reuters, 11/12/07)(SFC, 11/12/07, p.A15)
2007 Nov 18, A methane blast ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine, killing 101 workers. In 2008 the head of an investigative commission said negligence by coal mine managers eager to ratchet up output led to a methane blast in Ukraine's deadliest mining disaster since the Soviet breakup.
(AP, 11/18/07)(AP, 11/19/07)(AP, 1/25/08)
2007 Nov 23, Ukrainian PM Viktor Yanukovych submitted his resignation as a new parliament was sworn in and rival parties jostled to form a government after September elections.
(AP, 11/23/07)
2007 Nov 28, Two Hungarians and a Ukrainian were arrested in eastern Slovakia and Hungary in an attempted sale of a kilo (2.2 lbs.) of uranium, material believed to be from the former Soviet Union. Police said it was enriched enough to be used in a radiological "dirty bomb."
(AP, 11/29/07)
2007 Nov 29, Ukraine's two pro-Western parties forged a majority coalition in parliament, paving the way for forming a government.
(AP, 11/29/07)
2007 Dec 2, In Ukraine 5 workers looking for the bodies of miners killed in the country’s worst mine explosion since the Soviet collapse were killed in a new explosion. A day earlier 44 people were injured in an explosion in the same section of the mine.
(AP, 12/3/07)
2007 Dec 9, A charter aircraft flying from the Czech Republic crashed near Kiev airport in Ukraine killing at least 5 people.
(AFP, 12/9/07)
2007 Dec 11, Ukraine's parliament narrowly rejected the candidacy of Orange Revolution leader Yulia Tymoshenko for prime minister, but was expected to hold a further vote.
(AFP, 12/11/07)
2007 Dec 18, Ukraine's pro-Western coalition appointed Orange Revolution leader Yulia Tymoshenko prime minister and named a government that favors the ex-Soviet republic winning NATO and EU membership.
(AP, 12/18/07)
2007 Dec 30, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed off on Ukraine's 2008 budget, which he hailed as proof that the country's razor-tight parliamentary majority was functioning effectively.
(AP, 12/30/07)
2007 Ukraine’s population numbered about 48 million. This included some 8 million ethnic Russians.
(Econ, 7/7/07, p.51)(Econ, 9/13/08, p.16)
2008 Jan 25, A World Trade Organization (WTO) accession committee approved Ukraine's membership bid, clearing the way for the former Soviet republic to join the body.
(AP, 1/25/08)
2008 Jan 25, Russia's lower house of parliament annulled an agreement with Ukraine on using Soviet-built military radars, citing Kiev's bid to join NATO.
(AP, 1/25/08)
2008 Feb 6, Ukraine's main opposition party vowed to continue its blockade of parliament, a day after fist fights and protests over NATO membership caused the president to cancel his state of the nation speech.
(AP, 2/6/08)
2008 Feb 12, Russia agreed to eliminate a murky middleman company from its gas trade with Ukraine in exchange for 50% share of Ukraine’s domestic gas market.
(WSJ, 2/13/08, p.A5)
2008 Mar 3, Russia quelled protests in Moscow following the elections and reduced natural gas supplies to Ukraine over $600 million in alleged nonpayments for past deliveries.
(WSJ, 3/4/08, p.A1)
2008 Mar 4, Ukraine's natural gas company warned that if Russia further cuts its gas supplies, it could begin diverting shipments intended for western Europe.
(AP, 3/4/08)
2008 Mar 5, Russia's state gas monopoly announced that it was ending a reduction in natural gas supplies to Ukraine after the two countries' presidents and gas company chiefs reached an agreement aimed at ending a debt and contract dispute.
(AP, 3/5/08)
2008 Mar 22, Eighteen Ukrainian sailors were missing after their tug boat sank off the Hong Kong coast following a collision with a cargo ship. 7 people were rescued. On Dec 13, 2010, a Hong Kong court convicted four seamen over the deaths of the 18 Ukrainian sailors.
(Reuters, 3/23/08)(AFP, 1/13/10)
2008 Mar 27, A helicopter belonging to Ukraine's border guards crashed off an island in the Black Sea. One officer was rescued and 12 were missing.
(Reuters, 3/27/08)
2008 Apr 1, In Ukraine President Bush said he is putting his full weight behind the desire by Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO even though Russia is opposed and the alliance is split.
(AP, 4/1/08)
2008 Apr 3, President Bush won NATO's endorsement for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe over Russian objections. The proposal also advanced with Czech officials announcing an agreement to install a missile tracking site for the system in their country. NATO decided not to put Georgia and Ukraine on track to join the alliance after vehement Russian opposition, but the alliance pledged that the strategically important Black Sea nations will become members one day.
(AP, 4/3/08)
2008 Apr 28, A Ukrainian helicopter crashed onto an offshore drilling platform in the Black Sea, killing all 20 people on board.
(Reuters, 4/28/08)
2008 May 21, Ukraine moved to strengthen its currency, the hryvnia, by revising its peg to the dollar form 5.05 hryvnia per dollar to 4.85.
(WSJ, 5/22/08, p.C14)
2008 Jun 6, Russia's new Pres. Medvedev met with leaders of a fractious alliance of ex-Soviet republics, warning Ukraine and Georgia not to lead their countries into NATO.
(AP, 6/6/08)
2008 Jun 8, In eastern Ukraine a powerful explosion tore through a mine, trapping at least 37 miners who had been making repairs to improve safety conditions in the mine. 23 miners were rescued on June 9.
(AP, 6/8/08)(Reuters, 6/9/08)
2008 Jul 27, Floods in western Ukraine killed 22 people, including 4 children, and 5 in neighboring Romania after 5 days of nonstop rain. A senior government official described them as the worst in a century. Heavy rain in the southwestern Carpathian Mountains caused the Prut and Dniestr rivers to overflow. The flooding affected more than 40,000 houses and led to the evacuation of some 20,000 people.
(Reuters, 7/27/08)(AP, 7/28/08)
2008 Jul, In the Ukraine a 16th-century Caravaggio painting, "The Taking of Christ, or the Kiss of Judas," was stolen from the Museum of Western and Eastern Art in Odessa. It was valued at several million euros. In 2010 Berlin recovered the painting and arrested four members of an international gang of art thieves as they tried to sell it to an interested buyer.
(AP, 6/28/10)
2008 Aug 5, The UN said heavy rains and storms have led to some of the worst floods in 40 years in parts of Ukraine, Moldova and Romania since July 22, causing great damage to homes, infrastructure and farmland. In Ukraine, 34 people have been killed in the west of the country along the Dniestr and Prut rivers; in Moldova, three people are reported to have drowned in the capital Chisinau; in Romania five people have been killed.
(AFP, 8/5/08)
2008 Sep 2, Ukraine lawmakers loyal to PM Yulia Tymoshenko sided with opposition parties to pass a law weakening presidential powers and boosting those of the prime minister.
(AP, 9/3/08)
2008 Sep 3, Ukraine's Pres. Yushchenko ordered the creation of a new governing coalition and threatened fresh elections, accusing his rival prime minister and opposition parties of attempting a "constitutional coup."
(AP, 9/3/08)
2008 Sep 5, In Kiev US Vice President Dick Cheney pledged US support for Ukraine following last month's war between neighboring Russia and Georgia.
(AP, 9/5/08)
2008 Sep 9, The 27-member EU stopped short of offering Ukraine membership during an EU-Ukraine summit hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But the two sides began work on an "association accord," a step that offers closer political and economic ties and in the past has been designed to prepare nations for eventual membership.
(AP, 9/10/08)
2008 Sep 16, Ukraine's pro-Western coalition collapsed, paving the way for complicated coalition talks or yet another early parliamentary election.
(AP, 9/16/08)
2008 Sep 17, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko said she would not resign as required following the collapse of the country's ruling pro-Western coalition.
(AFP, 9/17/08)
2008 Sep 25, Pirates seized the 530-foot, Ukrainian cargo vessel, MV Faina, with 21 people aboard off eastern Somalia. Russia's navy soon sent a warship to Somalia's coast a day after pirates seized the Ukrainian vessel loaded with 33 tanks, ammunition and 3 Russian crew members. The ITAR-Tass news agency said the military equipment had been sold to Kenya. It was later reported that the arms were destined for southern Sudan and that Kenya’s cooperation would be rewarded in the future with cheap oil. The shipped was released on Feb 5, 2009, following a ransom of $3.2 million. Viktor Pinchuk, A top Ukrainian businessman, paid the "lion's share" of the ransom.
(AP, 9/26/08)(SFC, 9/27/08, p.A5)(Econ, 10/4/08, p.49)(AP, 2/5/09)(AP, 3/3/09)
2008 Sep 27, A Ukrainian ship, sailing under a North Korean flag, sank in the Black Sea and all crew members were missing. the 5,000-ton Tolstoy was carrying a cargo of scrap metal to the Turkish port of Nemrut.
(AP, 9/27/08)
2008 Sep 29, US warships and helicopters surrounded a hijacked cargo ship loaded with Sudan-bound tanks and other arms to keep the weapons from falling "into the wrong hands." The shipment of 33 Russian-designed tanks, rifles and ammunition on the Ukrainian-operated Faina was headed for Sudan, not Kenya as previously claimed by Kenyan officials. Somali pirates demanded a $20 million ransom.
(AP, 9/29/08)(SFC, 9/29/08, p.A12)
2008 Oct 9, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko called early general elections after dissolving parliament when parties failed to resurrect a ruling pro-Western coalition in the former Soviet state.
(AFP, 10/9/08)
2008 Oct 10, Ukraine's PM Yulia Tymoshenko said there will be no early parliamentary elections, defying a presidential decree and raising the stakes in her fierce political battle with the president. She said Ukraine has no money for an early election and predicted that parliament will not pass the necessary legislation.
(AP, 10/10/08)
2008 Oct 15, The IMF said Ukrainian authorities have asked the International Monetary Fund for help in stemming a financial crisis in the country. The government took emergency measures to rescue banks and stabilize the national currency, the hryvnia, after worried depositors withdrew more than US$1 billion from their accounts this month.
(AP, 10/15/08)
2008 Oct 22, Russia's foreign minister said Moscow wants to negotiate an extension of its lease at Ukraine's Black Sea port of Sevastopol. The move would keep Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the port where it has been stationed for centuries.
(AP, 10/22/08)
2008 Oct 23, The Ukrainian currency plunged against the dollar as people raced to exchange booths to convert their savings into US currency. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Russia’s desire to extend its port lease at Sevastopol "cannot be a subject of discussion." It said that Russian ships will have to leave Ukrainian waters in 2017.
(AP, 10/23/08)
2008 Oct 26, The IMF said it has reached a tentative agreement to provide Ukraine with $16.5 billion in loans over the next 2 years to help the country out of financial turmoil.
(SFC, 10/27/08, p.D1)
2008 Nov 5, Libya's Moamer Kadhafi met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in his traditional Bedouin tent during a visit to Kiev expected to focus on energy and military cooperation.
(AFP, 11/6/08)
2008 Dec 9, Ukraine lawmakers forged a 3-party coalition ending months of deadlock. It put back together the fractured alliance of Pres. Yuschenko and rival PM Tymoshenko along with another smaller party.
(SFC, 12/10/08, p.A4)
2008 Dec 24, Russian energy giant Gazprom threatened to cut gas deliveries to Ukraine on January 1 if a new contract is not signed by then for 2009 but pledged to honor its supply obligations to Europe.
(AFP, 12/24/08)
2008 Dec 24, In southern Ukraine an apartment building was destroyed in a nighttime explosion that killed 27 people in the Crimea peninsula resort of Yevpatoria. The explosion was likely caused by a leak from oxygen canisters in the building's basement.
(AP, 12/25/08)(AFP, 12/26/08)
2008 Dec 30, The Ukrainian government issued a decree saying two state banks would lend state energy company Naftogaz Ukrainy up to $2 billion to pay its arrears to Russia’s Gazprom. Disagreements remained on future gas costs.
(WSJ, 12/31/08, p.A5)
2008 Kiev university students established Femen, a group whose main aims are to improve the role of women in Ukraine's male-dominated, post-Soviet society. By 2010 it had become a small army of 300 mainly student activists ready to peel off in public to support Ukrainian women's rights.
(Reuters, 11/15/10)
2009 Jan 1, Russia cut off the gas to Ukraine after a contract dispute but increased supplies to other European states to try to reassure customers worried about possible disruption.
(Reuters, 1/1/09)
2009 Jan 2, Ukraine sought support in European capitals a day after Russia cut off gas supplies and hardened its stance on prices. The cutoff came after Ukraine made a $1.5 billion overdue payment, but Russia demanded another $600 million, including $450 million penalties for the late payment for gas shipped in November and December. The two sides also have not agreed on prices for 2009. Russia accused Ukraine of stealing gas destined for the rest of Europe.
(AP, 1/2/09)(Reuters, 1/2/09)
2009 Jan 3, Russian gas flows to four European Union countries fell normal levels after Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine in a pricing row with no talks in sight to resolve the dispute. Bulgaria's Bulgargaz joined energy firms in Poland, Romania and Hungary in saying they had noted falls in supply.
(Reuters, 1/3/09)
2009 Jan 4, Russia asked the EU to provide monitoring of Ukraine's gas transit system and charged Ukraine was stealing gas bound for Europe, as Kiev leveled its own charges. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that the state-controlled company wanted $450 per 1,000 cubic meters, up from its last offer of $418. The reductions in gas supplies spread to the Czech Republic and Turkey.
(AP, 1/4/09)(Reuters, 1/4/09)
2009 Jan 6, A natural gas crisis loomed over Europe, as a contract dispute between Russia and Ukraine shut off Russian gas supplies to six countries and reduced gas deliveries to several others. Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments.
(AP, 1/6/09)
2009 Jan 7, The EU said Russia and Ukraine will accept using international monitors to verify the transit of natural gas from Russia through Ukraine's pipelines. Russia's gas giant Gazprom completely stopped sending gas to European consumers at 7:44 a.m. (0544 GMT). 80% of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine.
(AP, 1/7/09)
2009 Jan 8, Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly said it would restore supplies to Europe through Ukraine, cut off after a dispute between Moscow and Kiev, as soon as international monitors are in place.
(Reuters, 1/8/09)
2009 Jan 10, Russia and the EU took a step toward securing the resumption of gas flows to Europe when the two signed a deal on monitoring the supplies through Ukraine. PM Vladimir Putin said Russia will restart gas supplies to Europe once an EU-led monitoring mission begins to track gas transit via Ukraine.
(AP, 1/10/09)(Reuters, 1/10/09)
2009 Jan 11, Russia, Ukraine, and the EU struck an agreement to try to resume Russian supplies through Ukraine to Europe. President Dmitry Medvedev said energy giant Gazprom would only resume gas supplies once Russia had a copy of the document signed by Ukraine and once the various teams of international observers were in place. The text of the accord calls for the EU, Russia and Ukraine to each provide 25 experts to "carry out checks on the basis of equal parity both on Ukrainian and Russian territory.
(Reuters, 1/11/09)(AFP, 1/11/09)
2009 Jan 12, Russia's state-run monopoly Gazprom announced it will resume shipping natural gas to Europe, where tens of thousands of homes and buildings have been left without heat in freezing weather.
(AP, 1/12/09)
2009 Jan 13, Russia and Ukraine hotly blamed each other as Russia restarted natural gas supplies but little or no gas flowed toward Europe. EU officials watched in dismay and criticized both nations for their intransigence.
(AP, 1/13/09)
2009 Jan 14, Russia and Ukraine wrangled over gas supplies again. Bulgaria and Slovakia, cut off by the row for a freezing week, launched missions to plead for Russian gas flow to be restored.
(Reuters, 1/14/09)
2009 Jan 15, Ukraine rejected Russia's latest request to pipe natural gas westward to increasingly frustrated EU consumers, deepening the bitter economic and political dispute that has paralyzed energy shipments to Europe.
(AP, 1/15/09)
2009 Jan 17, Russia and Ukraine held gas crisis talks in Moscow that the European Union said were the "last and best chance" to resolve the row that has left Europe struggling without key gas supplies.
(AFP, 1/17/09)
2009 Jan 18, Russia and Ukraine announced a deal to end the bitter dispute that has blocked Russian natural gas from Europe following talks between Russian PM Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko. Under the terms, Ukraine will pay 20 percent less than the European "market price" price for gas this year, which Russia says is $450 per 1,000 cubic meters. That's more than twice as much as the $179.50 Ukraine paid in 2008.
(AP, 1/18/09)
2009 Jan 19, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal that restores natural gas shipments to Ukraine and paves the way for an end to the nearly two-week cutoff of most Russian gas to a freezing Europe.
(AP, 1/19/09)
2009 Jan 20, Russian gas reached Europe via Ukraine for the first time in two weeks after Moscow and Kiev ended a contract row that cut supplies to about 20 European countries.
(Reuters, 1/20/09)
2009 Feb 5, Somali pirates said that they were freeing, a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and other heavy weapons after receiving a $3.2 million ransom. The MV Faina was seized last September 25. The Kenyan government claimed to the cargo, which included 33 Soviet-designed battle tanks.
(AP, 2/5/09)
2009 Feb 20, In Egypt 5 crew members died when a Ukrainian cargo plane crashed during takeoff, burst into flames and slid down the runway in the city of Luxor.
(AP, 2/20/09)
2009 Feb 25, Standard and Poor's said on it had cut Ukraine's credit ratings to a level indicating vulnerability to default, amid worries over whether Kiev will receive the next slice of a vital IMF loan.
(AP, 2/25/09)
2009 Feb 25, Russia issued a DVD and a thick book of historical documents to dispute claims that the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s amounted to genocide. It was argued that the Stalin-era famine was a common tragedy across Soviet farmlands.
(SFC, 2/26/09, p.A2)
2009 Mar 4, Ukrainian masked and armed security agents searched the headquarters of Naftogaz, Ukraine's natural gas company, in a raid that the firm said threatened a deal with Russia over the shipment of gas supplies to Europe. The raid was said to be connected to a criminal investigation launched this week into the alleged diversion of some 7.4 billion hryvnia ($900 million) in Russian gas by officials at Naftogaz.
(AP, 3/4/09)
2009 Mar 5, Ukraine’s Naftogaz paid its February bill for Russian gas just hours after Pres. Putin said Russia would halt supplies if Ukraine failed to meet a March 7 deadline.
(WSJ, 3/6/09, p.A10)
2009 Apr 14, Ukrainian officials said security agents have arrested a regional lawmaker and two companions for trying to sell a radioactive substance that could be used in making a dirty bomb. The legislator in the western Ternopyl region and two local businessmen were detained last week for trying to sell 8.2 pounds (3.7 kilograms) of radioactive material to an undercover agent of the security service.
(AP, 4/14/09)
2009 May 7, In eastern Ukraine 9 people were killed in an explosion at a gambling hall in Dnipropetrovsk.
(AP, 5/7/09)
2009 May 7, The European Union extended its hand to former Soviet republics, holding a summit to draw them closer into the EU orbit despite Russia's deep misgivings. Presidents, premiers and their deputies from 33 nations signed an agreement meant to extend the EU's political and economic ties. The six ex-Soviet republics to whom the “eastern partnership" would apply are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
(AP, 5/7/09)(Econ, 1/10/15, p.49)
2009 May 22, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev challenged EU leaders meeting at a summit in Khabarovsk to help Ukraine pay its gas bills in order to prevent disruption of Russian supplies to Europe.
(Reuters, 5/22/09)
2009 May 26, Libya and Ukraine signed deals to cooperate in both peaceful civilian nuclear energy and in defense during a visit by Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko.
(AP, 5/27/09)
2009 Jun 7, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko said that talks with the main opposition party on forming a coalition have collapsed, indicating a continuation of the turmoil that has plagued the country's politics and hobbled its response to the severe economic crisis.
(AP, 6/7/09)
2009 Jun 17, In Nigeria a Ukrainian plane made an emergency landing due to technical problems in the northern city of Kano. Eighteen crates of mines and ammunition, destined for Equatorial Guinea, were found aboard the aircraft. The crew and a Nigerian collaborator were detained and soon transferred to Abuja for questioning.
(AFP, 6/22/09)
2009 Jun 21, Ukrainian border guards seized 250 turtles being smuggled into the country on a train from Uzbekistan, where they had been hidden and strapped down with tape to prevent them from moving.
(AFP, 6/22/09)
2009 Jul 14, In Afghanistan a NATO-contracted helicopter was shot down killing six Ukrainian crew members on board and an Afghan child on the ground in Helmand province. A roadside bomb killed one Italian soldier and wounded three others in western Afghanistan. Another roadside blast hit a civilian vehicle in Uruzgan province, killing three people and wounded six others. US coalition and Afghan forces searched compounds in Kandahar and found bomb-making materials, mortar rounds, AK-47 rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of opium.
(AP, 7/14/09)(SFC, 7/15/09, p.A2)(AP, 7/26/09)
2009 Jul 27, The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, led solemn prayers in Kiev on the first day of 10-day visit aimed at reasserting Moscow's dominance over church leaders in Ukraine.
(AP, 7/27/09)
2009 Sep 1, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko said Russia and Ukraine have resolved a long standing dispute over natural gas supplies, after meeting her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a resort on the Baltic coast in northern Poland.
(Reuters, 9/1/09)
2009 Oct 31, The Ukrainian government ordered schools nationwide to close for 3 weeks due to swine flu, which has left 33 people dead. Public gatherings were also banned and restrictions on travel were imposed to stop the spread of the virus.
(SSFC, 11/1/09, p.A6)
2009 Nov 18, A San Francisco federal judge reduced the 9-year sentence of Pavel Lazarenko (56), a former prime minister of Ukraine (1996-1997), by 11 months. The judge also imposed a $9 million fine and nearly $26 million in forfeitures to the US government, including the value of his sold Novato mansion. Lazarenko was sentenced in 2006 for money laundering and other charges. He was said to have amassed a $250 million fortune in extortions following Ukraine’s independence in 1992.
(SFC, 11/17/09, p.C2)
2010 Jan 17, Ukrainians voted in presidential elections. Voters in the first round gave opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych, the 2004 Orange Revolution's chief target, a 35.4% to 25% lead over Orange heroine and PM Yulia Tymoshenko. Analysts said Yanukovych's lead, with 97.7% of votes counted, is misleading, because Tymoshenko is likely to pick up most of the votes of 16 also-rans in a Feb 7 runoff. Almost 67% of eligible voters cast ballots.
(Reuters, 1/17/10)(AP, 1/18/10)
2010 Jan 18, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko rushed to the east of the country after an explosion in a hospital killed seven people.
(Reuters, 1/18/10)
2010 Feb 3, Ukraine's security service said 5 Russian FSB agents were detained last month after being caught trying to obtain confidential military information from a Ukrainian citizen. The FSB said the Ukrainian citizen its agents were working with had himself been apprehended in November while allegedly spying on neighboring Moldova's Moscow-backed breakaway Trans-Dniester republic.
(AP, 2/3/10)
2010 Feb 7, Ukrainians voted between two presidential candidates in a run-off between PM Yulia Tymoshenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich which could push the country into a fresh bout of instability. Yanukovich ended with 48.95% to Tymoshenko's 45.47%, a lead of 3.48 percentage points or some 888,000 votes.
(Reuters, 2/7/10)(AP, 2/10/10)
2010 Feb 8, International monitors hailed Ukraine's presidential election as "professional, transparent and honest," increasing pressure on PM Yulia Tymoshenko to concede to opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych, who held a 2.7% point lead with all but 1.7% of the ballots cast counted.
(AP, 2/8/10)
2010 Feb 10, Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich called on defeated rival Yulia Tymoshenko to resign as prime minister, turning up the pressure even as her camp contested the result of the Feb 7 presidential election.
(Reuters, 2/10/10)
2010 Feb 14, Ukraine's election commission proclaimed pro-Russian Victor Yanukovych the official winner of the presidential poll, even as his rival Yulia Tymoshenko vowed to contest the results in court.
(AFP, 2/14/10)
2010 Feb 20, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko dropped her legal challenge to her rival's presidential election victory, saying she had lost faith in the country's courts.
(AFP, 2/20/10)
2010 Feb 24, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko challenged her opponents to oust her in a no-confidence vote, aiming to show they don't have enough votes to do so.
(AP, 2/24/10)
2010 Mar 1, Ukraine’s Pres. Viktor Yanukovych visited Brussels saying "Our priorities will include integration into the European Union, bringing up constructive relations with the Russian Federation, and developing friendly relations with strategic partners such as the United States."
(AP, 3/1/10)
2010 Mar 2, In Ukraine PM Yulia Tymoshenko's pro-Western "Orange" coalition dissolved, losing its majority in parliament and paving the way for the new president to consolidate his power.
(AP, 3/2/10)
2010 Mar 3, The Ukrainian parliament ousted the government of PM Yulia Tymoshenko in a no-confidence vote, dealing a final blow to the leadership of the pro-Western Orange Revolution and leaving her to lead the opposition in parliament. The no-confidence resolution passed with 243 votes in the 450-seat chamber.
(AP, 3/3/10)
2010 Mar 11, Ukrainian lawmakers formed a new majority coalition around President Viktor Yanukovych. Before forming the new governing coalition, Yanukovych signed a new law allowing individual deputies to break away from their parliamentary factions, which allowed his coalition to eventually control 235 of the chamber's 450 seats. Mykola Azarov, who served as Yanukovych's campaign strategist in this year's presidential elections, was chosen as premier.
(AP, 3/11/10)
2010 Apr 21, The presidents of Ukraine and Russia agreed to extend the stay of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol to 2042 after the existing lease expires in 2017. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Kiev will receive large discounts on gas shipments in return for certainty over the base's future, $100 for every 1,000 cubic meters of gas or 30 percent if the benchmark price falls below $330.
(AP, 4/21/10)(SFC, 4/22/10, p.A2)
2010 Apr 24, Ukraine's political opposition sought to rally people against a decision by President Viktor Yanukovich to allow the Russian navy to stay in Ukraine's Crimea until 2042.
(Reuters, 4/24/10)
2010 Apr 27, Ukraine's parliament erupted into chaos as deputies scuffled and hurled smoke bombs during a tumultuous session that ratified a bitterly contested deal with Russia extending a naval base lease.
(AFP, 4/27/10)
2010 May 5, Ukraine Communists unveiled a monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in front of the party's office in the city of Zaporizhya., sparking the anger of Ukrainian nationalists.
(AP, 5/5/10)
2010 May 17, Russian Pres. Medvedev visited Kiev, Ukraine, and oversaw the signing of several cooperation deals with the new Moscow-friendly leadership of Pres. Viktor Yanukovych.
(SFC, 5/18/10, p.A2)
2010 Jun 1, Ukraine's new president, accused by opponents of moving the country into Moscow's orbit, outlined a foreign policy bill that ditches his predecessor's aim to join NATO but keeps EU membership as a long-term goal.
(AP, 6/1/10)
2010 Jun 3, Ukraine's Parliament, prodded by pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych, approved a bill that cements the country's neutrality and prevents it from joining NATO.
(AP, 6/3/10)
2010 Aug 20, Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych said he is taking control of the case of Vasyl Klymentyev, an investigative reporter who has been missing for a week. Klymentyev reportedly was threatened after refusing to accept a bribe to halt publication of a story about a regional prosecutor accused of accepting bribes to close criminal cases.
(AP, 8/20/10)
2010 Sep, The FBI and its counterparts in Ukraine, the Netherlands and Britain took down a cyber-theft ring they first got wind of in May 2009 when a financial services firm tipped the bureau's Omaha, Neb., office to suspicious transactions. Since then, the FBI's Operation Trident Breach has uncovered losses of $14 million and counting.
(AP, 11/22/10)
2010 Oct 1, Ukraine's Constitutional Court shifted key powers from parliament to the presidency, a move that boosted the influence of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, but also threw the country into legal uncertainty.
(AP, 10/1/10)
2010 Oct 6, Local media reported that Ukraine has adopted a dress code for government workers. The code called on men working at the Cabinet of Ministers to wear mostly gray and dark blue suits and not wear the same suit to work two days in a row. Women were asked to stick to business suits and low-heeled shoes, as well as refrain from excessive makeup and jewelry.
(AP, 10/6/10)
2010 Oct 12, In eastern Ukraine a train crashed into a crowded bus, killing 43 people on the bus, including two children, and injuring nearly a dozen others. PM Mykola Azarov ordered his government to pay the family of each of the dead victims 100,000 hryvnia ($12,600). He also instructed transport officials to install automated crossing gates at all the nation's railway crossings to prevent cars, buses and trucks from ignoring the siren.
(AP, 10/12/10)(SFC, 10/13/10, p.A2)
2010 Oct 13, In the Ukraine for the second time in two days, a vehicle ignored a warning light at a railroad crossing and was hit by a train in a fatal accident killing 2 people.
(AP, 10/14/10)
2010 Oct 31, Ukraine voted for local councils and mayors in an election which should provide the first real clues to Pres. Yanukovich's standing at home since his election last February. Exit polls said Yanukovych’s swept elections to regional councils throughout the country.
(Reuters, 10/31/10)(AP, 11/1/10)
2010 Dec 16, A fierce fight in Ukraine's parliament sent at least six lawmakers to the hospital with concussions, a fractured jaw and multiple bruises, setting a new low for the often-tumultuous body. Pro-Tymoshenko legislators had been blocking legislative work all day, protesting a corruption probe against her.
(AP, 12/17/10)
2010 Dec 16, Human Rights Watch urged the EU to stop returning migrants and asylum seekers to Ukraine, saying that they faced abuse and torture in the former Soviet republic.
(Reuters, 12/16/10)
2010 Dec 26, Ukraine's security service detained former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko, the latest move in a crackdown on the previous government since Pres. Yanukovich took power. The state prosecutor's office this month charged Lutsenko with abuse of office, saying he had embezzled state funds. He denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the charges as politically motivated.
(Reuters, 12/26/10)
2011 Jan 27, Ukraine's state prosecutors office announced new criminal charges against former PM Yulia Tymoshenko over the alleged illegal purchase of 1,000 vehicles in the run-up to the 2010 presidential election.
(Reuters, 1/27/11)
2011 Feb 19, Dirar Abu Sisi (42), a Palestinian engineer, went missing "under unknown circumstances" after boarding a train in the Ukraine city of Kharkiv bound for the capital Kiev. The UN refugee agency later confirmed his wife's fears that he is being held in prison by the Israeli secret service. Sisi's Ukrainian wife, Veronika (32), alleged the Israeli secret service Mossad carried out the abduction in order to sabotage a key electric power plant in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip where he worked as a senior manager.
(AP, 3/10/11)
2011 Mar 24, Former Ukraine Pres. Leonid Kuchma said he has been charged in the 2000 slaying of investigative reporter Heorhiy Gongadze.
(SFC, 3/25/11, p.A2)
2011 May 4, Ukrainian prosecutors said they have opened a criminal investigation against the former head of the Kiev Zoo, where hundreds of animals have died or gone mysteriously missing in recent years. Svitlana Berzina was suspected of embezzling some $47,000 (euro32,000) from the zoo by commissioning projects that weren't fully carried out, if at all. Berzina was fired last year after nearly one-half of the zoo's animals either died or disappeared.
(AP, 5/4/11)
2011 Jun 20, Chinese President Hu Jintao made a rare visit to Ukraine to sign a strategic partnership declaration as Beijing seeks to revive ties with the ex-Soviet state after years of neglect. Hu Jintao oversaw the signing of business deals worth $3.5 billion.
(AFP, 6/20/11)(AP, 6/20/11)
2011 Jun 24, Ukraine's former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko went on trial on charges of abuse of office, insisting during a chaotic hearing that the case is a plot by the nation's president to keep her out of politics.
(AP, 6/24/11)
2011 Jul 2, In Germany Wladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine became the undisputed world heavyweight champion by beating Great Britain's David Haye on a unanimous points decision at Hamburg's football stadium.
(AFP, 7/2/11)
2011 Jul 10, In western Ukraine a fire tore through a home for the elderly, killing 16 people in the village of Bile.
(AP, 7/10/11)
2011 Jul 29, In eastern Ukraine a pre-dawn methane explosion at the notoriously dangerous Suhodilska-Eastern mine in the Luhansk region killed 20 workers. Hours later an elevator used to transport miners and equipment into and out of the Bazhanova mine in the eastern Donetsk region collapsed, killing 7 workers. 10 miners all told remained missing.
(AP, 7/29/11)(AP, 7/30/11)
2011 Aug 5, Ukraine police arrested former PM Yulia Tymoshenko during her abuse-of-office trial for violations of court procedures.
(SFC, 8/6/11, p.A2)
2011 Aug 24, In Ukraine over 5,000 opposition activists rallied on the 20th anniversary of Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union, protesting the arrest of former PM Yulia Tymoshenko and demanding early elections.
(AP, 8/24/11)
2011 Sep 1, Ukraine opened shale gas development to Western giants, assigning its first exploration contract to the Anglo-Dutch firm Shell in a deal worth up to $800 million (555 million euros).
(AFP, 9/1/11)
2011 Sep 3, In Tajikistan leaders from eight former Soviet states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) gathered to celebrate enduring cooperation over the two decades since their nations collectively gained independence, but mutual acrimony and recriminations cast a shadow over the event.
(AP, 9/3/11)
2011 Oct 11, Ukraine's former PM Yulia Tymoshenko (50) was sentenced to 7 years in prison on charges of abuse of office in signing a gas deal with Russia, a verdict immediately condemned by the European Union as politically motivated. The sentence also included a 3-year ban on public office and a fine of $190 million.
(AP, 10/11/11)(Econ, 10/15/11, p.59)
2011 Oct 13, Ukraine's Pres. Viktor Yanukovych, facing harsh Western criticism, said that he backs legal reforms that could allow the release of imprisoned former PM Yulia Tymoshenko.
(AP, 10/13/11)
2011 Dec 8, Kiev's Shevchenkivsky Court ordered former PM Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko arrested as part of a probe into the activity of an energy company she headed 15 years ago.
(AP, 12/9/11)
2011 Charles King authored “Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams."
(Econ, 2/26/11, p.90)
2012 Jan 6, The Czech Republic granted asylum to Oleksandr Tymoshenko, the husband of jailed former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko. He requested asylum because a criminal investigation has been launched against him in Ukraine in an attempt to increase pressure on his jailed wife.
(AP, 1/6/12)
2012 Jan 28, At Davos, Switzerland, 3 topless Ukrainian protesters were detained while trying to break into an invitation-only gathering of international CEOs and political leaders to call attention to the needs of the world's poor. Separately, demonstrators from the Occupy movement marched to the edge of the gathering.
(AP, 1/28/12)
2012 Jan 31, Ukrainian authorities said that the number of people who died of hypothermia in recent days has reached 30 as the country grapples with an unusually severe cold spell. In all, at least 58 people have died from the cold in Europe over the last week.
(AP, 1/31/12)
2012 Jan 31, The ship, Vera, with 10 Ukrainian and one Georgian crew, was sailing to Turkey's Aliaga port from Russia when it sank off the coast of Eregli in stormy waters. 8 of the crew were reported missing following the rescue of 3 people.
(AP, 2/1/12)
2012 Feb 1, The death toll from a severe cold spell in Eastern Europe rose to 71, including 43 in the Ukraine, most of them homeless people.
(AP, 2/1/12)
2012 Feb 3, Ukraine's government blamed Russia for natural gas shortages in some European countries as a severe cold spell grips the region. Germany, Italy and Austria have reported cutbacks in Russian gas supplies, but Russia's energy giant Gazprom has blamed them on Kiev, accusing Ukraine of siphoning off gas destined for European consumers.
(AP, 2/3/12)
2012 Feb 3, The death toll from a severe cold spell in Eastern Europe rose to 222, including 101 in the Ukraine, 37 in Poland, 24 in Romania and 16 in Bulgaria.
(AFP, 2/1/12)
2012 Feb 4, The Ukrainian Security Service detained a man sought by Russian authorities on charges of terrorism and two of his accomplices in Odessa. On Feb 27 the detainees were reported to be linked to an anti-Putin plot.
(AP, 2/27/12)
2012 Feb 5, Bosnia used helicopters to evacuate people and deliver food to those stranded by heavy snowfall. The cold snap across Eastern Europe has left at least 280 people dead including 131 in Ukraine.
(SFC, 2/6/12, p.A2)
2012 Feb 15, Authorities said more than 600 people in Eastern Europe have died during a record-breaking cold snap. Officials in the Czech Republic blamed two massive car pile-ups on blinding snow. Authorities in Russia said 205 people have died, while in Ukraine there have been 112 fatalities; in Poland, 107. Authorities said 7 people have died in Romania in the past 24 hours, bringing the total there to 86 deaths.
(AP, 2/15/12)
2012 Mar 9, In Ukraine Oksana Makar (18) was invited by two young men, ages 21 and 23, to their friend's apartment, where the three men allegedly gang-raped her, tried to choke her to death, wrapped her in a sheet, took her to a construction site, dumped her in a pit and set her on fire. After surgery 55% of her skin was gone, her kidneys were completely burned, and one of her arms and both her feet had to be amputated. The suspects were arrested the next day, but two of them were released soon after. The two men who were released are the sons of former government officials.
(AP, 3/18/12)
2012 Mar 9, In Ukraine Oksana Makar (18) was invited by two young men, ages 21 and 23, to their friend's apartment, where the three men allegedly gang-raped her, tried to choke her to death, wrapped her in a sheet, took her to a construction site, dumped her in a pit and set her on fire. After surgery 55% of her skin was gone, her kidneys were completely burned, and one of her arms and both her feet had to be amputated. The suspects were arrested the next day, but two of them were released soon after. The two men who were released are the sons of former government officials. On March 13 the two men were arrested, and all three suspects were charged with attempted murder. Makar died of her injuries on March 29. Murder was added to the rape chargers against the suspects.
(http://tinyurl.com/798q68z)(AP, 3/29/12)
2012 Apr 6, A Russian-Ukrainian crew of 8 on board the 29-meter Scorpius yacht, that set sail in September on an historic expedition around the South and North Poles, went missing in the Antarctic.
(AFP, 4/6/12)
2012 Apr 20, Jailed former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko went on hunger strike after prison guards allegedly beat her. She had refused to be treated for a severe spinal condition at the Kharkiv clinic because she doesn't trust government-appointed doctors.
(AP, 4/24/12)
2012 Apr 23, Ukraine's two biggest pro-Western opposition parties announced they will be joining forces in the fall parliamentary election in order to challenge Pres. Viktor Yanukovych's grip on power.
(AP, 4/23/12)
2012 Apr 27, In Ukraine four blasts within minutes rocked the center of Dnipropetrovsk in what prosecutors believed was a terrorist attack. Nine children were among the 31 injured. The crime was investigated as a terrorist attack and 4 men were soon arrested.
(AP, 4/27/12)(AFP, 4/28/12)(AP, 6/1/12)
2012 May 4, Ukraine's jailed and ailing ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko tentatively agreed to have her back condition treated at a local hospital under the supervision of a German doctor.
(AP, 5/4/12)
2012 May 21, A group of Ukrainians announced a project to provide free accommodation, translation and other services to foreign football fans attending next month's European Championship. UEFA President Michel Platini has called on the government to stop "bandits and crooks" from ripping off fans with exorbitant accommodation prices. Euro 2012, jointly held with Poland, begins June 8.
(AP, 5/21/12)
2012 May 24, In Ukraine a melee in the parliament was sparked by a proposed bill to make Russian an official language in eastern regions of the country with large native Russian-speaking populations. Lawmakers grappled and threw punches. One was hospitalized with a head injury.
(AP, 5/25/12)
2012 Jun 4, A Libyan military court handed stiff prison terms to 19 Ukrainians, three nationals from Belarus and two Russians accused of serving as mercenaries for ousted leader Moamer Kadhafi in Libya's conflict last year. One of the Russians, judged to have been the coordinator, was condemned to life imprisonment while the others were sentenced to 10 years' hard labor.
(AFP, 6/4/12)
2012 Jun 10, In Ukraine a small plane carrying skydivers crash-landed in bad weather near Kiev, killing five and injuring 15 people.
(AP, 6/10/12)
2012 Jun 28, Amnesty International said both South Sudan's army and rebel groups are using weapons imported from China, Ukraine and neighboring Sudan in fighting that has claimed dozens of civilian lives. Amnesty said the army was using Ukrainian-supplied T-72 battle tanks and that the rebel SSLA laid Chinese-made anti-vehicle mines and were firing Sudanese-made ammunition.
(AFP, 6/28/12)
2012 Jul 4, Ukraine opposition activists clashed with riot police in the center of Kiev and Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn resigned after the legislature passed a bill that would upgrade the status of the Russian language. The president has said he has not decided whether to approve or veto the bill, but Lytvyn's resignation was likely to delay that process because it cannot be submitted to the president without the speaker's signature.
(AP, 7/4/12)
2012 Jul 5, In Ukraine some 1,000 opposition activists rallied in Kiev to protest legislation upgrading the status of the Russian language.
(AP, 7/5/12)
2012 Jul 7, In Ukraine a bus carrying Russian religious pilgrims crashed killing 14 of 45 people onboard near Chernihiv.
(SSFC, 7/8/12, p.A4)
2012 Jul 26, In Ukraine a bare-breasted feminist activist bearing a threatening message on her body tried to attack the Russian Orthodox Church's leader Patriarch Kirill at Kiev's airport, to protest alleged anti-Ukrainian policies by the church and the Kremlin. Femen identified the woman as Yana Zhdanova.
(AP, 7/26/12)
2012 Aug 29, Ukraine's highest court upheld the guilty verdict against former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, who is in jail on abuse of office charges.
(AP, 8/29/12)
2012 Sep 8, In Ukraine hundreds of demonstrators rallied in the center of Kiev to protest what they call the government's crackdown on one of the few remaining independent TV channels ahead of parliamentary elections in late October.
(AP, 9/8/12)
2012 Sep 29, Ukraine's jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko exhorted her country to "rise up" against President Viktor Yanukovych's party in next month's parliamentary election.
(AP, 9/29/12)
2012 Oct 9, In Syria Ankhar Kochneva, a Ukrainian woman who worked as an interpreter for a Russian TV crew, was kidnapped by rebels in the country's west. Kochneva was reported free on March 12, 2013.
(AP, 10/16/12)(AP, 3/12/13)
2012 Oct 28, Ukrainians voted in an election that was expected to maintain President Viktor Yanukovych's parliamentary majority, despite his rollback on democracy during nearly three years in power. An exit poll showed Yanukovych's Party of Regions ahead with some 28.1 percent of the vote. Tymoshenko's Fatherland party was poised to get about 25 percent of the proportional vote, while the Udar (Punch) led by world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko was set to get around 15 percent.
(AP, 10/28/12)(AP, 10/29/12)
2012 Nov 16, Yulio Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s jailed opposition leader, ended her 18-day hunger strike after discussion with her German doctors.
(SFC, 11/16/12, p.A5)
2012 Dec 13, In Ukraine a violent brawl between supporters of the president and opposition lawmaker broke out in parliament, nearly overshadowing the naming of a new pro-government speaker to lead the fractious body. Opposition lawmakers were angry over the fact that some of their opponents continued the controversial practice of voting in place of their absent colleagues, despite a recent ban.
(AP, 12/13/12)
2012 Dec 15, In Ukraine Kharkiv Judge Volodymyr Trofimov (58), his wife, son and the son's girlfriend were found dead in Trofimov's apartment. All the bodies had been decapitated and the heads were missing. This was Judge's Day in Ukraine.
(AP, 12/17/12)
2012 Dec 18, Ukrainian health officials said 37 people have died from the severe cold spell that hit the country this month.
(AP, 12/18/12)
2012-2014 Rick Gates, a business associate of Paul Manafort, the 2016 campaign chairman for Donald Trump, personally directed two Washington lobbying firms, Mercury LLC and the Podesta Group Inc., to set up meetings between a top Ukrainian official and senators and congressmen on influential committees involving Ukrainian interests. Gates directed efforts to undercut sympathy for Yulia Tymoshenko, an imprisoned rival President Viktor Yanukovych.
(AP, 8/19/16)(SFC, 2/23/18, p.A5)
2013 Jan 18, Ukrainian authorities formally notified jailed former PM Yulia Tymoshenko that she is a suspect in the murder of Yvhen Scherban, a businessman and lawmaker, his wife and two other people in 1996.
(AP, 1/19/13)
2013 Jan 24, Ukraine sealed a deal with Shell allowing the company to probe for shale gas.
(Econ, 2/2/13, p.53)
2013 Feb 12, In Ukraine a 600-square-meter (6,500-square-foot) section of the roof over the turbine hall at the fourth power block at Chernobyl collapsed due to heavy snowfall. A new giant arch-shaped confinement is currently being constructed over the old sarcophagus. The construction of the new shelter was not affected by the accident.
(AP, 2/13/13)
2013 Feb 13, Ukrainian officials sought to reassure the public that radiation levels were unaffected at Chernobyl and there was no safety threat after a partial roof collapse at the exploded nuclear power plant.
(AP, 2/13/13)
2013 Feb 13, Ukraine reached a tentative agreement with Turkmenistan to resume imports of natural gas from the energy-rich Central Asian nation. Completion of the deal would require the consent of Kazakhstan and Russia as transit nations.
(AP, 2/13/13)
2013 Feb 13, In Ukraine a small Soviet-designed AN-24 plane carrying soccer fans headed for a match skidded past the landing strip and overturned in the eastern city of Donetsk, killing five people.
(AP, 2/13/13)
2013 Mar 23, In Ukraine the city of Kiev declared a state of emergency after it was paralyzed by an unprecedented snowstorm that has stalled car, railway and air traffic.
(AP, 3/23/13)
2013 Apr 4, Ukrainian lawmakers held two competing parliament sessions after pro-government legislators stormed out of the official parliament hall and moved to a nearby building in response to a protest by opposition parties.
(AP, 4/4/13)
2013 Apr 4, The Ukraine-based group Femen, which stages pranks for women's and gay rights, held an International Topless Jihad day in support of Muslim women. In Tunisia a woman named Amina participated and went into hiding after reportedly receiving death threats. On Apr 6 she reappeared in an interview on French cable TV station Canal Plus saying she fears for her life and wants to take refuge abroad.
(AP, 4/7/13)
2013 Apr 7, Ukraine’s Pres. Viktor Yanukovych pardoned former Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko and former environment minister Heorhiy Filipchuk.
(SFC, 4/8/13, p.A2)
2013 May 25, In Kiev, Ukraine, between 50 and 100 gay rights activists staged the ex-Soviet nation's first-ever gay pride parade under heavy police presence.
(AP, 5/25/13)
2013 Jun 26, In Ukraine Irina Krashkova (29) was beaten and raped by local police in Vradiyevka. The officers involved were not arrested until enraged residents stormed the police station in protest.
(AP, 7/21/13)(http://tinyurl.com/lf25gh4)
2013 Jul 2, Ukraine's president ordered a top-level inquiry after a night of violence in a small southern town in which people angered by the rape of a local woman in which they said police were involved attacked a police headquarters with petrol bombs.
(Reuters, 7/2/13)
2013 Jul 19, Ukrainian riot police dispersed a protest in central Kiev early today over last month's rape of a woman who accused police officers of the crime.
(Reuters, 7/19/13)
2013 Aug 6, Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry said that a pipe carrying liquid ammonia depressurized at the Stirol plant in the east of the country, causing the release of the chemical. The leak killed 5 people and sickened more than 20.
(AP, 8/6/13)
2013 Aug 15, Ukrainian politicians accused Russia of starting a trade war to pressure the country against signing a cooperation pact with the EU, bringing relations between the two former Soviet states to a new low.
(AP, 8/15/13)
2013 Aug 30, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said he had no legal powers to allow jailed rival Yulia Tymoshenko to go abroad for medical treatment as some European governments have urged, but hinted compromise might be found if the law was changed.
(Reuters, 8/30/13)
2013 Sep 3, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich urged parliament to pass laws to underpin the country's pro-Europe drive, even as Russia renewed pressure on Kiev to halt its westward course.
(Reuters, 9/3/13)
2013 Sep 11, The European Union rejected Russian pressure to deter Ukraine and other former Soviet republics from deepening trade ties with Europe, saying any kind of retaliation was unacceptable.
(Reuters, 9/11/13)
2013 Sep 18, Ukraine formally gave the go-ahead for landmark trade deals to be signed with the European Union, disregarding pressure from Moscow for Kiev to halt its westward course.
(Reuters, 9/18/13)
2013 Oct 2, Ukrainian police fired tear gas to disperse protesters trying to enter the city council building in the capital Kiev. Thousands of opposition protesters had gathered to rally against what they say is an illegitimate council session.
(Reuters, 10/2/13)
2013 Oct 21, The party of Ukraine's jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko (52) rejected President Viktor Yanukovich's terms for her release and European envoys said time was running out to solve a row threatening agreements with the EU.
(Reuters, 10/21/13)
2013 Oct 29, Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will ask Ukraine to start pre-paying for gas supplies in case Ukraine doesn't settle outstanding debts. He was reacting to a complaint of Alexei Miller, chief executive of Russian gas giant Gazprom, who said Ukraine owes Russia $882 million for the August deliveries and was due to pay for it by Oct 1.
(AP, 10/29/13)
2013 Nov 1, In Tasmania int’l. negotiations ended after China, Russia and Ukraine scuttled plans to create the world's largest ocean sanctuary in Antarctica. The sanctuary plans were led by the Antarctic Ocean Alliance which campaigns for protecting the Antarctic seas. For the sanctuary proposals to pass, they needed backing from all 200 delegates from 25 member countries, many of which have conflicting interests.
(Reuters, 11/1/13)(SFC, 11/2/13, p.A2)
2013 Nov 13, More than one-half of the editorial staff at the Ukrainian edition of Forbes quit to protest what they say is censorship imposed by the new management. They resigned after the new chief editor rejected a previously approved project to investigate a top government official, First Deputy PM Serhiy Arbuzov, an ally of the president.
(AP, 11/13/13)
2013 Nov 21, The Ukrainian government announced it was suspending its preparations for the signing of a landmark agreement with the EU. President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said that Russia welcomed Kiev's desire to improve trade ties with Moscow, signaling satisfaction with the Ukrainian government decision.
(AP, 11/21/13)(Reuters, 11/21/13)
2013 Nov 21, Ukraine's parliament rejected draft laws that would allow jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to go to Germany for medical treatment.
(Reuters, 11/21/13)
2013 Nov 22, Thousands of protesters poured into Kiev's Independence Square, the center of Ukraine's pro-Western Orange Revolution, to demand that the government reverse course and sign a landmark agreement with the EU.
(AP, 11/22/13)
2013 Nov 24, Some 50,000 Ukrainians, bearing EU flags and chanting "Down with the gang!", marched through Kiev in a pro-Europe rally denouncing President Yanukovich's U-turn in policy back towards Russia.
(AP, 11/24/13)
2013 Nov 25, The EU expressed strong disapproval of Russian pressure on Ukraine to reject an EU trade deal, while police fired tear gas at pro-Europe protesters in the former Soviet republic.
(Reuters, 11/25/13)
2013 Nov 26, In Ukraine several thousand students ditched classes and joined protests in the center of Kiev against the government's abrupt move to freeze integration with the West and tilt toward Moscow.
(AP, 11/26/13)
2013 Nov 27, In the Ukraine thousands of people demonstrated in central Kiev for a fifth straight day to protest the government’s decision not to sign an agreement with the EU but to restore ties with Russia instead.
(AP, 11/27/13)
2013 Nov 28, EU leaders meeting in Vilnius sought to revive a stalled agreement with Ukraine after the former Soviet republic shocked the 28-country bloc last week by opting for closer ties with Russia instead.
(AP, 11/28/13)
2013 Nov 29, In Ukraine thousands protested in Kiev, demanding the president's resignation after he shelved a landmark agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
(AP, 11/29/13)
2013 Nov 30, Ukrainian police in Kiev broke up a large anti-government demonstration in the city center before dawn, swinging truncheons and injuring many. Protesters took refuge inside the walls of a central Kiev monastery. The opposition demanded that authorities call early presidential and parliamentary polls.
(AP, 11/30/13)(AFP, 11/30/13)(Reuters, 11/30/13)
2013 Dec 1, In Ukraine some 300,000 demonstrators chased away police to rally in the center of Kiev, defying a government ban on protests on Independence Square over the president's refusal to sign an agreement with the EU. Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, addressing hundreds of thousands of protesters, called on President Viktor Yanukovich and his government to resign. The protests turned violent when a group of demonstrators besieged the president's office and police drove them back with truncheons, tear gas and flash grenades.
(AP, 12/1/13)(Reuters, 12/1/13)
2013 Dec 2, In Ukraine about 1,000 protesters blocked off the government's main headquarters and surrounding streets, preventing employees getting to work, in further protests at Kiev's policy U-turn away from integration with Europe.
(AP, 12/2/13)
2013 Dec 3, Ukraine's opposition failed to force out the government with a parliamentary no-confidence vote, leaving the country's political tensions unresolved with calls for more mass protests.
(AP, 12/3/13)
2013 Dec 4, Ukraine's PM Mykola Azarov warned protesters trying to blockade government buildings they would be punished for any "illegal acts", as officials went to Moscow seeking aid to avoid a financial meltdown. Thousands of people continued to rally in Kiev against the decision to freeze ties with the EU and get closer to Russia.
(Reuters, 12/4/13)(AP, 12/4/13)
2013 Dec 6, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich flew to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin, seeking aid to shore up a creaking economy as protesters back home, opposed to his U-turn away from Europe, defied police.
(Reuters, 12/6/13)
2013 Dec 8, Several hundred thousand Ukrainians occupied a central square in the capital, denouncing President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to turn away from Europe and align with Russia. Protesters in the square knocked down a 3.4 meter statue of Vladimir Lenin, erected in 1946.
(AP, 12/8/13)(AFP, 12/8/13)
2013 Dec 9, In Ukraine hundreds of police in full riot gear flooded into the center of Kiev as mass anti-government protests gripped the capital for yet another week. Heavily armed riot troops broke into the offices of a top opposition party in Kiev and seized its servers.
(AP, 12/9/13)
2013 Dec 10, In Ukraine about 2,000 pro-Europe protesters huddled by braziers in their main tented camp in snowbound Kiev, in defiance of riot police who herded them away from government buildings overnight.
(Reuters, 12/10/13)
2013 Dec 11, Ukrainian police pulled back as protesters claimed victory after an overnight face-off in which authorities removed barricades and tents and scuffled with demonstrators occupying Kiev's main square.
(AP, 12/11/13)
2013 Dec 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin used his state-of-the-nation address to defend conservative values, referring obliquely to his government's anti-gay stance as he chided the West for treating "good and evil" equally. Putin also made a new attempt to woo Ukraine after the EU and US stepped up efforts to pull Kiev out of its former Soviet master's orbit. He also announced a set of initiatives to crack down on Russian companies who register and pay taxes in offshore jurisdictions.
(AP, 12/12/13)
2013 Dec 13, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich made few concessions in crisis talks with the opposition, his first direct attempt to defuse weeks of unrest over a policy swerve to Russia away from Europe. A Ukrainian court released all those arrested during a violent police dispersal of demonstrators near the presidential administration building, one of the demands of the opposition that has conducted three weeks of large protests.
(Reuters, 12/13/13)(AP, 12/13/13)
2013 Dec 14, Tens of thousands of Ukrainians rallied in support of President Viktor Yanukovich in central Kiev, separated by a line of riot police from anti-government protesters who have camped out for weeks in a nearby square. Authorities conceded to one of the demands of weeks-long protests, opening investigations against four top officials and suspending two of them from office over the violent police response to a small demonstration last month.
(Reuters, 12/14/13)(AP, 12/14/13)
2013 Dec 15, In Ukraine about 200,000 anti-government protesters converged on the central square of Kiev in a dramatic show of morale after nearly four weeks of daily protests. The EU said it has suspended association talks with Ukraine until it receives a firmer commitment from Yanukovych that Ukraine was serious about the deal.
(AP, 12/15/13)(AFP, 12/15/13)
2013 Dec 16, Ukraine's ruling party demanded a sweeping cabinet reshuffle in a sign the leadership was seeking to placate the opposition in a bitter standoff over a rejected EU pact.
(AFP, 12/16/13)
2013 Dec 17, Russian and Ukrainian officials signed a series of agreements in Moscow to boost trade and industrial cooperation.
(AP, 12/17/13)
2013 Dec 20, Russia closed a deal to buy Ukraine's newly-issued $3 billion Eurobond, part of a $15 billion bailout of its smaller neighbor.
(Reuters, 12/23/13)
2013 Dec 22, Ukrainian opposition leaders urged supporters at a rally to stay on Kiev's main square through New Year and Christmas, as street protests appeared to be losing momentum.
(Reuters, 12/22/13)
2013 Dec 23, Russia bought $3 billion worth of Ukrainian bonds, the first batch of a promised $15 billion, in a bid to support its neighbor's economy.
(AP, 12/24/13)
2013 Dec 25, Ukrainian opposition activist and journalist Tetyana Chornovil (34), known for her investigations into corruption among senior state officials, was beaten up by unknown attackers. Chornovil was assaulted near Kiev hours after an article she wrote on the assets of top government officials was published. Opposition activists quickly gathered outside the Interior Ministry in Kiev and demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko.
(Reuters, 12/25/13)(SFC, 12/26/13, p.A3)
2013 Dec 29, In Ukraine some 20,000 people protested in Kiev, maintaining more than a month of rallies opposing the government's decision to shelve a key deal with the European Union.
(AP, 12/29/13)
2013 An ATM in Kiev started dispensing cash at seemingly random times of day. No one had put in a card, or touched a button. Kaspersky Lab later discovered that the bank’s internal computers had been penetrated by malware that allowed cybercriminals to record their every move. The scope of this attack on more than 100 banks and other financial institutions in 30 nations could make it one of the largest bank thefts ever. The theft was discovered when mules of the Carbanak gang, named after the malware used, were seen picking up cash apparently being randomly dispensed in Kiev.
(http://tinyurl.com/oq4jfxu)(Econ, 7/16/16, World IF p.8)
2014 Jan 1, In Ukraine about 15,000 people marched through the streets of Kiev to mark the 105th birthday of Stepan Bandera (d.1959), glorified by some as a leader of Ukraine's liberation movement and dismissed by others as a Nazi collaborator.
(AP, 1/1/14)
2014 Jan 11, Ukraine's ex-interior minister turned opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko (49) was in intensive care in hospital after being beaten in fresh clashes between pro-EU demonstrators and club-wielding police.
(AFP, 1/11/14)
2014 Jan 12, In Ukraine an estimated 50,000 pro-Western protesters massed in the heart of Kiev amid swelling anger over the bloody beating of prominent former minister turned opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko.
(AFP, 1/12/14)
2014 Jan 16, Supporters of Ukrainian Pres. Viktor Yanukovich rammed a sweeping law through parliament in an attempt to curb anti-government protests, sparking an outcry from the opposition and raising tensions on the streets.
(Reuters, 1/16/14)
2014 Jan 17, Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych signed legislation curbing anti-government protests, civic activism and free speech.
(AFP, 1/17/14)(SFC, 1/20/14, p.A3)
2014 Jan 19, Ukraine protesters attacked riot police with sticks in Kiev and tried to overturn a bus blocking their path to parliament, as up to 100,000 massed in defiance of sweeping new laws aimed at stamping out anti-government demonstrations.
(Reuters, 1/19/14)
2014 Jan 21, In Ukraine top opposition leader Vitali Klitschko headed for talks with the Pres. Yanukovych after yet another night of violent street clashes between anti-government protesters and police.
(AP, 1/21/14)
2014 Jan 22, In Ukraine Unity Day protests left 5 people dead. The bodies of 2 protesters were found near the site of clashes with police in Kiev. Prosecutors said they were shot with live ammunition, the first deaths after two months of largely peaceful protest. Some 25 people went missing. Yanukovich met opposition leaders in an attempt to defuse street violence in which 3 people were killed overnight.
(AP, 1/22/14)(Reuters, 1/22/14)(Econ, 1/25/14, p.41)(Econ, 2/15/14, p.20)
2014 Jan 23, Tensions in Ukraine spread far from Kiev as hundreds of people in the city of Lviv stormed into the regional governor's office and forced him to write a letter of resignation. President Yanukovich called for an emergency session of parliament to end the crisis which has brought thousands of anti-government protesters on to the streets and caused violent clashes with police. PM Mykola Azarov accused opposition protesters of trying to stage a coup d'etat.
(AP, 1/23/14)(Reuters, 1/23/14)
2014 Jan 25, Ukraine anti-government protesters seized a regional administration building. Officials warned that police could storm the Kiev city hall to free two policemen allegedly captured by demonstrators.
(AP, 1/25/14)
2014 Jan 25, Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych offered the prime minister's post to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, one of the opposition's most prominent leaders. Police clashed with protesters who blockaded a building in central Kiev and the fate of the government was uncertain after embattled Pres. Viktor Yanukovich offered opposition leaders key posts.
(Reuters, 1/26/14)(AP, 1/27/14)
2014 Jan 27, The Ukrainian government said in a statement it was issuing $2 billion in Eurobonds to Russia on the same terms as in December, bringing the total amount borrowed - over two years at an interest rate of 5 percent - to $5 billion.
(Reuters, 1/27/14)
2014 Jan 27, Ukraine's justice minister threatened to call for a state of emergency unless protesters leave her ministry building, which they occupied during the night. The body of a man (55) was found dead hanging from the framework of a huge artificial 'New Year tree' in central Kiev.
(AP, 1/27/14)(Reuters, 1/27/14)
2014 Jan 28, Ukraine PM Mykola Azarov resigned. Pres. Yanukovych accepted Azarov’s resignation but asked him to stay on in an acting role until a new government is formed. Parliament repealed anti-protest laws that had set off violent clashes between protesters and police.
(AP, 1/28/14)
2014 Jan 29, Ukraine’s parliament passed a measure offering amnesty to those arrested in two months of protests, but only if demonstrators vacate most of the buildings they occupied. The opposition greeted the move with contempt.
(SFC, 1/30/14, p.A2)
2014 Jan 30, Ukraine's embattled President Viktor Yanukovych took sick leave, leaving it unclear how involved he may be in efforts to resolve the country's political crisis in which protesters are calling for his resignation.
(AP, 1/30/14)
2014 Jan 30, In Ukraine Dmytro Bulatov (35) a member of Automaidan, a group of car owners that has taken part in the protests against President Viktor Yanukovych, was discovered outside Kiev. His face and clothes were covered in clotted blood, his hands were swollen and bore the marks of nails. He had gone missing on Jan 22.
(AP, 1/31/14)
2014 Jan 31, Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych signed a measure offering amnesty to those arrested in two months of protests, but only if demonstrators vacate most of the buildings they occupied, and repealed anti-protest legislation.
(AP, 1/31/14)(Reuters, 2/1/14)
2014 Feb 3, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich returned to his desk after four days of sick leave, while the political opposition pressed for further concessions to end more than two months of street protests.
(Reuters, 2/3/14)
2014 Feb 4, In Ukraine 12 people were killed and five others injured when a train and minibus collided at a railway crossing point in the north-eastern Sumy region.
(Reuters, 2/4/14)
2014 Feb 8, In Ukraine Thousands of people angered by months of anti-government protests in Kiev converged on one of the protesters' barricades, but retreated after meeting sizeable resistance.
(AP, 2/8/14)
2014 Feb 9, Ukraine's security agency warned of a heightened risk of terrorism, including from nearly three months of anti-government protests. An estimated 70,000 pro-Western Ukrainians thronged the heart of Kiev vowing never to give up their drive to oust President Viktor Yanukovych for his alliance with old master Russia.
(AP, 2/9/14)(AFP, 2/9/14)
2014 Feb 11, In central Ukraine Oleksandr Lobodenko (34), a judge who placed several anti-government protesters under house arrest, was murdered overnight in Kremenchuk.
(AFP, 2/12/14)
2014 Feb 14, Ukraine authorities provisionally freed the last of 234 detained protesters under an amnesty offer aimed a diffusing protracted street protests.
(SFC, 2/15/14, p.A2)
2014 Feb 16, In Ukraine anti-government demonstrators in Kiev ended their nearly three-month occupation of City Hall as promised in exchange for the release of all jailed protesters.
(AP, 2/16/14)
2014 Feb 18, In Ukraine riot police stormed Independence Square (Maidan) in Kiev. The deadly clashes between police and anti-government protesters left at least 25 people dead and hundreds injured, raising fears of a civil war.
(AP, 2/18/14)(AFP, 2/18/14)(AP, 2/19/14)(Econ, 2/22/14, p.19)
2014 Feb 19, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich accused pro-European opposition leaders of trying to seize power by force after at least 26 people died in the worst violence since the former Soviet republic gained independence. Defiant protesters seized control of Kiev’s central post office, hurling fire bombs and rocks and standing their ground against officers in riot gear. Opponents of the president declared political autonomy in the major western city of Lviv. Protest leaders and Pres. Yanukovych called for a truce.
(Reuters, 2/19/14)(AP, 2/19/14)(SFC, 2/20/14, p.A2)
2014 Feb 19, Poland's deputy foreign minister said consensus has been reached among EU states about imposing sanctions on Ukrainian officials over the violence in Kiev that has killed dozens of people.
(Reuters, 2/19/14)
2014 Feb 20, In Ukraine protesters, fearing that a call for a truce was a ruse, tossed firebombs and advanced upon police lines in Kiev. Government snipers shot back and the almost-medieval melee that ensued left at least 70 people dead. Ukraine's Interior ministry says 67 police were captured by protesters. The head of Kiev's city administration quit the party of President Viktor Yanukovich in protest at the bloodshed on the streets.
(AP, 2/20/14)(Reuters, 2/20/14)
2014 Feb 21, Ukraine's opposition leaders signed a deal with the president and European and Russian mediators for early elections and a new government in hopes of ending a deadly political crisis. Ukraine's parliament voted to return the ex-Soviet country to its 2004 constitution, which limits the president's powers and gives lawmakers the right to appoint key ministers.
(AP, 2/21/14)(AFP, 2/21/14)
2014 Jan 22, In Ukraine Unity Day protests left 5 people dead. The bodies of 2 protesters were found near the site of clashes with police in Kiev. Prosecutors said they were shot with live ammunition, the first deaths after two months of largely peaceful protest. Some 25 people went missing. Yanukovich met opposition leaders in an attempt to defuse street violence in which 3 people were killed overnight.
(AP, 1/22/14)(Reuters, 1/22/14)(Econ, 1/25/14, p.41)(Econ, 2/22/14, p.20)
2014 Feb 22, The heads of four Ukrainian security bodies, including the police's Berkut anti-riot units, appeared in parliament and declared they would not take part in any conflict with the people. Yulia Tymoshenko left imprisonment and spoke to a massive, adoring crowd, while President Viktor Yanukovych decamped to eastern Ukraine and vowed he would remain in power.
(Reuters, 2/22/14)(AP, 2/23/14)
2014 Feb 23, Ukraine’s Parliament voted to hand the president’s power to speaker Oleksandr Turchinov, a top opposition figure, plunging Ukraine into new uncertainty after a deadly political standoff.
(AP, 2/23/14)
2014 Feb 23, Vladimir Putin ordered officials to start work on taking control of Crimea. This was weeks before a referendum which, the Kremlin later asserted, prompted the region's annexation from Ukraine. This information was not made public until March 8. , 2015.
(Reuters, 3/9/15)
2014 Feb 24, Ukraine's acting government issued an arrest warrant for President Viktor Yanukovych, accusing him of mass crimes against the protesters who stood up for months against his rule. The head of the city administration in Sevastopol quit amid the turmoil, and protesters replaced a Ukrainian flag near the city hall building with a Russian flag. Andriy Klyuyev, President Viktor Yanukovych's chief of staff until Sunday, was wounded by gunfire and hospitalized.
(AP, 2/24/14)(AP, 2/25/14)
2014 Feb 26, In Ukraine fistfights broke out between pro- and anti-Russian demonstrators in the strategic Crimea region as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered massive military exercises just across the border.
(AP, 2/26/14)
2014 Feb 26, Moscow granted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych protection "on the territory of Russia," shortly after the fugitive leader sought help from the Kremlin.
(AP, 2/27/14)
2014 Feb 26, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet told EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a phone call that the Ukrainian opposition to president Viktor Yanukovych may have been involved in sniper attacks (Feb 18-20). News of the call was leaked in early March and prompted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to call for an OSCE investigation.
(AFP, 3/8/14)(SFC, 3/8/14, p.A4)
2014 Feb 27, Ukraine's new PM Arseny Yatseniuk accused the government of ousted President Viktor Yanukovich of stripping state coffers bare and said 37 billion dollars of credit it had received had disappeared. Russian soldiers without insignias, later known as “little green men," seized the parliament in the Crimea region and raised the Russian flag, alarming Kiev's new rulers, who urged Moscow not to abuse its navy base rights on the peninsula by moving troops around.
(Reuters, 2/27/14)(Econ., 3/7/15, p.51)
2014 Feb 28, Ukraine accused Russia of a "military invasion and occupation," saying Russian troops have taken up positions around a coast guard base and two airports on its strategic Crimea peninsula. Russia kept silent on the accusations, as the crisis deepened between two of Europe's largest countries.
(AP, 2/28/14)
2014 Feb 28, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein moved to freeze assets and bank accounts of up to 20 Ukrainians including ousted president Viktor Yanukovich and his son, after Ukraine's new rulers said billions had gone missing.
(Reuters, 2/28/14)
2014 Feb, In the Netherlands the Allard Pierson museum opened the "Crimea — Gold and secrets of the Black Sea" exhibition. In April curators said they are not sure where to return the objects on display when it ends in August due to Russia’s takeover of Crimea.
(AP, 4/4/14)
2014 Mar 1, Ukraine's Pres. Viktor Yanukovich sent a letter to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, asking him to use Russian army and police forces to restore order in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/24/19)
2014 Mar 1, Russia's parliament granted Pres. Vladimir Putin permission to use the country's military in Ukraine and also recommended that Moscow's ambassador be recalled from Washington over comments made by Pres. Obama. Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatsenyuk opened a Cabinet meeting in Kiev by calling on Russia not to provoke discord in Crimea.
(AP, 3/1/14)
2014 Mar 1, Sergei Aksyonov, the pro-Russian prime minister of Ukraine's Crimea region, claimed control of the military and police there and appealed to Russia's President Vladimir Putin for help in keeping peace.
(AP, 3/1/14)
2014 Mar 2, Ukraine mobilized for war and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically, after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbor.
(Reuters, 3/2/14)
2014 Mar 2, Ukraine's new PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk and world leaders urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull back his military as hundreds of armed men surrounded a Ukrainian military base in Crimea. Ukraine's navy chief announced he had switched allegiance to the pro-Russian authorities of the flashpoint peninsula of Crimea, a day after he was appointed to the post by interim leader Oleksandr Turchynov.
(AP, 3/2/14)(AFP, 3/2/14)
2014 Mar 3, In Ukraine pro-Russian demonstrators occupied the first floor of the regional government building in Donetsk, the latest in days of rallies that Kiev says are organized by Moscow as a pretext to invade. Interfax news agency quoted a source in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry as saying Russia's Black Sea Fleet has told Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender by 5 a.m. on March 4 or face a military assault. The OSCE said it will start deploying in Ukraine late today, but Russian objections mean the body has yet to agree on a full-scale mission. The UN said 16,000 Russians have been deployed in Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/3/14)(AFP, 3/3/14)(SFC, 3/4/14, p.A2)
2014 Mar 3, In Ukraine Reshat Ametov, a Tatar construction worker and father of three, was seized by unidentified men after taking part in a pro-Ukraine rally in Crimea. His body, bearing signs of torture was found on March 16.
(Econ, 3/22/14, p.23)
2014 Mar 4, Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Kiev to show US support for the fledgling Ukraine government, and the Obama administration announced with his arrival a $1 billion energy subsidy package.
(AP, 3/4/14)
2014 Mar 4, Vladimir Putin said that Moscow reserves the right to use its military to protect Russians in Ukraine but voiced hope it won't need to do so as he accusing the West of encouraging an "unconstitutional coup." Russia's state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom said it will cancel a price discount for natural gas supplies to Ukraine as of April 1.
(AP, 3/4/14)
2014 Mar 5, Ukraine's new PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that embattled Crimea must remain part of Ukraine, but may be granted more local powers.
(AP, 3/5/14)
2014 Mar 5, The EU prepared a $15 billion aid package to Ukraine and froze the assets of 18 people blamed for looting the treasury of the nearly bankrupt country.
(AP, 3/5/14)
2014 Mar 5, Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that Germany is ready to help Ukraine in its difficult phase and added that this would include financial assistance.
(Reuters, 3/5/14)
2014 Mar 6, Ukraine's new leadership was reported to have reached out to oligarchs for help, appointing them as governors in eastern regions where loyalties to Moscow are strong.
(AP, 3/7/14)
2014 Mar 6, In Ukraine two Femen protesters were arrested in Crimea's capital Simferopol after staging a topless demonstration against Russia's intervention in Ukraine in front of the regional parliament. Pavel Gubarev, the leader of the most persistent pro-Moscow protest movement in eastern Ukraine, was arrested at his home in the city of Donetsk
(AFP, 3/6/14)(Reuters, 3/6/14)
2014 Mar 6, The Obama administration slapped new visa restrictions against pro-Russian opponents to the new Ukraine government in Kiev as lawmakers in Crimea declared their intention to split from Ukraine and join Russia instead. They scheduled a referendum in 10 days for voters to decide the fate of the disputed peninsula. Russia's parliament, clearly savoring the action, introduced a bill intended to make this happen.
(AP, 3/6/14)
2014 Mar 6, European leaders said Russia will face sanctions over its military incursion in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula unless it withdraws its troops or engages in credible talks to defuse the situation. The EU froze the assets of ousted Ukraine leader Viktor Yanukovych, ex-premier Mykola Azarov and 16 former ministers, businessmen and security chiefs, all on grounds of fraud.
(AP, 3/6/14)(AFP, 3/6/14)
2014 Mar 6, Poland's defense minister said a mission of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been stopped from entering Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula by unidentified men in military fatigues.
(Reuters, 3/6/14)
2014 Mar 7, Russia rallied support for a Crimean bid to secede from Ukraine, with Russia's top lawmaker assuring her Crimean counterpart that the region would be welcomed as "an absolutely equal subject of the Russian Federation." Russia said that Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) observers, who were barred from Crimea, had failed to obtain "official invitations" from the Crimean authorities.
(AP, 3/7/14)(AFP, 3/7/14)
2014 Mar 8, Ukraine's top security body said that it and the national news agency has been hit by cyber attacks, the latest suffered by state organizations since the start of the crisis over Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/8/14)
2014 Mar 8, Russia was reported to be reinforcing its military presence in Crimea as Moscow's foreign minister ruled out any dialogue with Ukraine's new authorities, whom he dismissed as puppets. Warning shots were fired when an unarmed OSCE military observer mission was turned back while trying to cross into Ukraine's Crimea region.
(AP, 3/8/14)(Reuters, 3/8/14)
2014 Mar 9, Russians took over a Ukrainian border post on the western edge of Crimea, trapping about 15 personnel inside. Germany's Angela Merkel delivered a rebuke to President Vladimir Putin, telling him that a planned Moscow-backed referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia was illegal and violated Ukraine's constitution.
(Reuters, 3/9/14)
2014 Mar 10, Russian troops opened fire with automatic rifles during a takeover of a Ukrainian naval post in Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/10/14)
2014 Mar 10, Switzerland froze the assets and bank accounts of nine more Ukrainians, including another son of ousted president Viktor Yanukovich and the son of a former prime minister, all of whom are suspected of human rights abuses and misuse of state funds.
(Reuters, 3/10/14)
2014 Mar 11, Ukraine's interim leaders established a new National Guard and appealed to the United States and Britain for assistance against what they called Russian aggression in Crimea under a post-Cold War treaty.
(Reuters, 3/11/14)
2014 Mar 11, The parliament of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula voted for full independence from Ukraine in preparation for a referendum to join Russia. France threatened sanctions against Moscow as early as this week. Gunmen took over air traffic control of the airport in the regional capital Simferopol and refused landing rights to a flight from the Ukrainian capital.
(AFP, 3/11/14)
2014 Mar 11, The European Commission agreed to extend nearly 500 million euros worth of trade benefits to Ukraine, removing duties on a wide range of agricultural goods, textiles and other imports in an effort to support the Ukrainian economy. G7 leaders called on Russia to stop all efforts to "annex" Ukraine's Crimea region.
(Reuters, 3/11/14)(Reuters, 3/12/14)
2014 Mar 11, The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said it is sending a new team to observe military developments in tense regions of Ukraine and that the new team's mandate has been extended beyond Crimea to eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian forces rebuffed previous attempts to monitor Crimea.
(AP, 3/11/14)
2014 Mar 12, Ukraine's acting president said the country would not use its army to stop Crimea from seceding, the latest sign that a Russian annexation of the strategic peninsula may be imminent.
(AFP, 3/12/14)
2014 Mar 12, Austria arrested Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash at the request of the USA which has been investigating him since 2006. He was suspected of violating laws on bribery and forming a criminal organization in the course of foreign business deals. On March 21 Firtash was released on 125 million-euro ($172.5 million) bail.
(Reuters, 3/13/14)(AP, 3/21/14)
2014 Mar 12, European Union member states agreed on the wording of sanctions on Russia, including travel restrictions and asset freezes against those responsible for violating the sovereignty of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/12/14)
2014 Mar 13, Ukraine's parliament appealed to the UN to discuss the occupation by Russian forces of its Crimea peninsula and said it reserved the right to ask individual countries for help in resolving the issue. A man (22) was stabbed to death in Donetsk in clashes between pro-Russian protesters and a crowd favoring European integration and denouncing Russian forces' seizure of Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/13/14)(Reuters, 3/14/14)
2014 Mar 13, Germany's Angela Merkel warned Moscow that it risked "massive" political and economic damage if it refused to change course on Ukraine.
(AP, 3/13/14)
2014 Mar 14, In Ukraine two people were killed and several wounded in a shootout that erupted after a clash in the city of Kharkiv between pro-Russian demonstrators and their opponents.
(AP, 3/15/14)
2014 Mar 14, EU officials said they have drawn up a list of 120-130 names of Russians who could be hit with travel bans and asset freezes to punish Russia for its seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region.
(Reuters, 3/14/14)
2014 Mar 14, Russia called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to send its observers to monitor Crimea's controversial referendum on independence from Ukraine.
(AFP, 3/14/14)
2014 Mar 15, Ukraine's military scrambled aircraft and paratroops to repel an attempt by Russian forces to enter a long spit of land belonging to a region adjacent to Crimea. Russian forces seized a natural gas distribution station in Strelkova, about 10 km outside Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/15/14)(AP, 3/15/14)
2014 Mar 15, Russia vetoed a UN resolution declaring the March 15 referendum on the future of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula illegal, but close ally China abstained in a show of Moscow's isolation.
(AP, 3/15/14)
2014 Mar 16, Residents in Ukraine's strategic Crimean Peninsula voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia, overwhelmingly approving a referendum that sought to unite the Black Sea region with the country it was part of for some 250 years. In eastern Ukraine thousands of pro-Russian protesters in the city of Donetsk rallied in support of Crimea's right to join Russia and to press for their own referendum. Ukraine's defense minister said his forces in Crimea have reached a temporary truce with Russia aimed at easing tensions surrounding the Black Sea peninsula's high-stakes secession referendum.
(AP, 3/16/14)(AFP, 3/16/14)
2014 Mar 16, NATO said hackers have brought down several public NATO websites, in what appeared to be the latest escalation in cyberspace over growing tensions over Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/16/14)
2014 Mar 17, Ukraine's Crimean peninsula declared itself independent after its residents voted overwhelmingly to secede and join Russia, while the United States and the European Union slapped sanctions against some of those who promoted the divisive referendum. Ukraine recalled its ambassador to Russia for consultations on the international ramifications of the situation in its Crimea region. Armed men came to the Ukrainian Belbek military airfield in the Crimean peninsula, fired shots in the air and took away the base’s commanding officer.
(AP, 3/17/14)(Reuters, 3/17/14)(Reuters, 3/18/14)
2014 Mar 18, In Crimea a confrontation between Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian militia left two dead, a Ukrainian serviceman and a member of a militia.
(AP, 3/19/14)
2014 Mar 18, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to annex Crimea, describing the move as correcting past injustice and a necessary response to what he called Western encroachment upon Russia's vital interests.
(AP, 3/18/14)
2014 Mar 18, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said that leaders of the Group of Eight world powers have suspended Russia's participation in the club amid tensions over Ukraine and Russia's incursion into Crimea.
(AP, 3/18/14)
2014 Mar 18, US Vice President Joe Biden warned Russia that the US and Europe will impose further sanctions as Moscow seeks to annex the Ukrainian territory.
(AP, 3/18/14)
2014 Mar 20, Pro-Russian crowds seized two Ukrainian warships and Ukraine said its troops were being threatened in Crimea as the European Union considered new sanctions against Russia for its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula.
(AP, 3/20/14)
2014 Mar 20, President Barack Obama said the United States is levying a new round of economic sanctions on individuals in Russia, both inside and outside the government, in retaliation for the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine. Obama says he has also signed a new executive order that would allow the US to sanction key sectors of the Russian economy.
(AP, 3/20/14)
2014 Mar 21, Ukrainian police detained energy official Yevhen Bakulin, the chief executive of state energy company Naftogaz, as part of an investigation into corruption that it says may have cost the Ukrainian state about $4 billion.
(AP, 3/22/14)
2014 Mar 21, The European Union and Ukraine signed a landmark political cooperation accord, committing to the same deal former president Viktor Yanukovich rejected last November, a decision that led to his overthrow.
(Reuters, 3/21/14)
2014 Mar 21, Russia’s Pres. Vladimir Putin completed his annexation of Crimea, signing a law making the Black Sea peninsula part of Russia just as Ukraine itself sealed a deal pulling it closer into Europe's orbit.
(AP, 3/21/14)
2014 Mar 22, Ukraine’s interior minister said police have seized 42 kg of gold and $4.8 million in cash during a search of the apartments of former Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky. His career had blossomed under the presidency of ousted Viktor Yanukovich and was appointed energy minister in December 2012.
(Reuters, 3/22/14)
2014 Mar 22, Ukraine Col. Yully Mamchur, the commander of Belbek Air Force base in Crimea, was seized by pro-Russian forces as they stormed the base near Sevastopol.
(SFC, 3/24/14, p.A4)
2014 Mar 22, In eastern Ukraine more than 5,000 pro-Russia residents of Donetsk demonstrated in favor of holding a referendum on whether to seek to split off and become part of Russia.
(AP, 3/22/14)
2014 Mar 24, Ukraine announced the evacuation of its troops and their families from Crimea, effectively acknowledging defeat in the face of Russian forces, who stormed one of the last remaining Ukrainian bases on the peninsula.
(Reuters, 3/24/14)
2014 Mar 25, Ukraine lawmakers accepted the resignation of the defense minister Igor Tenyukh as thousands of troops began withdrawing from the Crimean Peninsula, now controlled by Russia. Col. Gen. Mikhail Kovalyov was voted in as his replacement.
(AP, 3/25/14)
2014 Mar 25, Oleksander Muzychko, a prominent Ukrainian far-right activist, was shot dead by police overnight as he tried to escape from a cafe in the western region of Rivne. Police said he was wanted for "hooliganism" and an attack on a local prosecutor.
(Reuters, 3/25/14)
2014 Mar 26, Ukraine’s Naftogaz officials said the price of gas will rise for domestic consumers by more than 50 per cent from May 1. Further rises will be implemented under a fixed timetable until 2018. The step were in response to demands by the International Monetary Fund.
(AP, 3/26/14)
2014 Mar 26, Russian forces took over the Ukrainian minesweeper Cherkasy, the last military ship controlled by Ukraine in Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/26/14)
2014 Mar 27, Ukraine PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned that everyone is going to feel some pain from necessary financial reforms ahead as the International Monetary Fund pledged up to $18 billion in loans to prop up the teetering economy. Former PM Yulia Tymoshenko announced that she will run for president in the vote set for May 25.
(AP, 3/27/14)
2014 Mar 27, The UN passed a non-binding resolution declaring invalid Crimea's Moscow-backed referendum on seceding from Ukraine with 100 votes in favor, 11 against and 58 abstentions in the 193-nation General Assembly. Russia threatened several Eastern European and Central Asian states with retaliation if they voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution.
(Reuters, 3/28/14)(Reuters, 3/29/14)
2014 Mar 28, Russia's Pres. Vladimir Putin said Ukraine could regain some arms and equipment of military units in Crimea that did not switch their loyalty to Russia.
(AP, 3/28/14)
2014 Mar 29, Russia said it had "no intention" of invading eastern Ukraine, responding to Western warnings over a military buildup on the border following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
(Reuters, 3/29/14)
2014 Mar 29, Ukraine boxer turned opposition leader Vitali Klitschko dropped out of the May 25 snap presidential polls to help the candidacy of Petro Poroshenko, a charismatic tycoon who made a fortune selling chocolates and backs closer Western ties.
(AFP, 3/29/14)
2014 Mar 29, Crimea's Tatars held a vote on whether to push for self-rule in their historic homeland following its annexation by Russia. The Crimean Tatars, who make up about 12 percent of Crimea's population, strongly opposed and largely boycotted the hastily-organized March 16 referendum.
(AFP, 3/29/14)
2014 Mar 31, Ukraine reported a gradual withdrawal of Russian troops from its border that may be linked to Washington's latest push for a diplomatic solution to the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.
(AFP, 3/31/14)
2014 Mar 31, In Ukraine a Right Sector member shot and wounded three people outside a restaurant adjacent to Kiev's main Independence Square, including a deputy city mayor, triggering a standoff that lasted overnight.
(AP, 4/1/14)
2014 Mar 31, Russia’s PM Medvedev said Crimea will be made a special economic zone offering tax breaks and reduced bureaucracy to attract investors.
(Reuters, 3/31/14)
2014 Apr 1, The EU’s economy chief Olli Rehn's said the EU will make a swift payment of financial aid to Ukraine and dismissed the possibility of economic sanctions against Russia unless it takes more action.
(Reuters, 4/1/14)
2014 Apr 1, Russia warned Ukraine against integration with NATO, saying Kiev's previous attempts to move closer to the bloc had strained ties with Russia and caused problems between Moscow and the defense alliance. Russia sharply hiked the price for natural gas to Ukraine and threatened to reclaim billions previous discounts. Ukrainian police moved to disarm members of a radical nationalist group after a shooting spree in the capital.
(Reuters, 4/1/14)(AP, 4/1/14)
2014 Apr 2, Ukraine took the first step toward granting more powers to the regions in line with Western wishes but stopped well short of creating the federation sought by Russia.
(AFP, 4/2/14)
2014 Apr 2, A Russian soldier shot dead Ukrainian naval officer Stanislav Karachevsky in eastern Crimea, the second Ukrainian death reported since Russia took control of the Black Sea peninsula.
(Reuters, 4/7/14)
2014 Apr 2, Ukraine's ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, said that he was "wrong" to invite Russian troops into Crimea, and vowed to try to persuade Russia to return the Black Sea peninsula.
(AP, 4/2/14)
2014 Apr 2, The EU and the US sought ways to reduce the political clout Russia gets from its vast energy reserves by promising to wean Ukraine and the rest of the continent off those supplies.
(AP, 4/2/14)
2014 Apr 3, Ukraine authorities said that they have detained several members of an elite riot police unit on suspicion of shooting protesters during bloody anti-government clashes in February that left more than 100 dead. The interim government has said former Pres. Yanukovych ordered snipers to be deployed, a charge Yanukovych has denied.
(AP, 4/3/14)
2014 Apr 3, Germany’s Deutsche Post said it is no longer accepting letters bound for Crimea after its Ukrainian counterpart told the Geneva-based Universal Postal Union (UPU) that delivery to the region was no longer guaranteed.
(Reuters, 4/3/14)
2014 Apr 3, Russia’s gas giant Gazprom urged Ukraine to pay its debt, and announced a 70 percent rise in the charge for future supplies.
(AP, 4/3/14)
2014 Apr 4, Ukraine's Western-backed leaders scrambled to find new sources of energy after Russia hiked its gas price by 81 percent in response to the overthrow of Kiev's pro-Kremlin regime.
(AFP, 4/4/14)(AFP, 4/5/14)
2014 Apr 4, In Ukraine journalist Vasily Sergiyenko, a member of nationalist Svoboda party, was abducted in his home city of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi. The body of the reporter was later found in a forest with stab wounds and signs of beatings to his head and knees.
(AP, 4/6/14)
2014 Apr 5, Ukraine rejected Russia's latest gas price hike and threatened to take its energy-rich neighbor to arbitration court over a dispute that could imperil deliveries to western Europe.
(AFP, 4/5/14)
2014 Apr 5, Ukraine’s security service said it has detained a 15-strong armed gang planning to seize power in Luhansk province. Weapons seized included 300 machine guns, an anti-tank grenade launcher and a large number of grenades.
(SSFC, 4/6/14, p.A5)
2014 Apr 6, In Ukraine about 50 pro-Russian protesters broke through police lines and stormed inside the main administration building in the eastern city of Donetsk. Pro-Russian activists seized government buildings in at least three cities.
(AFP, 4/6/14)(AP, 4/7/14)
2014 Apr 7, In Ukraine pro-Russian separatists who seized a provincial administration building in the eastern city of Donetsk proclaimed the region independent.
(AP, 4/7/14)
2014 Apr 7, Ukraine's ecology and natural resources minister estimated on that Kiev had lost natural resources and related assets worth 127 billion hryvnias ($10.8 bln) when Russia annexed the Crimea region.
(Reuters, 4/7/14)
2014 Apr 8, Ukrainian authorities reasserted control over an administration building in Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, evicting pro-Russian protesters and detaining dozens. In Donetsk the makings of an improvised self-appointed government began taking shape as demonstrators dug in for their third day at the 11-story regional administration headquarters. In Luhansk pro-Russia groups remained in control of the local branch of the security services, which they seized over the weekend.
(AP, 4/8/14)
2014 Apr 9, Ukrainian authorities warned that they are prepared to use force to clear several government buildings seized by pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. 56 hostages were allowed to leave the Luhansk security services building overnight.
(AP, 4/9/14)
2014 Apr 10, In Ukraine protesters inside the Luhansk security building, a former KGB headquarters, said they would only lay down their weapons if Kiev agreed to hold a referendum on the future of the region.
(Reuters, 4/10/14)
2014 Apr 10, President Vladimir Putin warned European leaders Russia would cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine if it did not pay its bills and said this could lead to a reduction of onward deliveries to Europe.
(Reuters, 4/10/14)
2014 Apr 11, Ukraine's PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk told leaders in the country's restive east that he is committed to allowing regions to have more powers, but left it unclear how his ideas differ from the demands of protesters now occupying government buildings or Russia's advocacy of federalization.
(AP, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 11, Nuclear technology firm Westinghouse said it has reached a deal with Ukraine to deliver fuel for its 15 reactors through 2020, a move that helps the country reduce its reliance on Russia for energy supplies as it squabbles with Moscow over unpaid gas bills.
(AP, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 11, Crimean lawmakers adopted a new constitution, taking another step to cement the region's absorption into Russia despite strong objections from the Muslim Tatar minority.
(Reuters, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 11, The United States imposed sanctions on a Crimea-based gas company, Chernomorneftegaz, effectively putting it off limits to Russia's state-controlled Gazprom. The move, along with penalties on six Crimean separatists and a former Ukrainian official, is the third round of US sanctions since the Ukraine crisis erupted.
(Reuters, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 12, In Ukraine armed pro-Russian militants raised the Russian flag in the eastern city of Slaviansk, deepening a stand-off with Moscow which, Kiev warned, was dragging Europe closer to a "gas war" that could disrupt supplies across the continent. Igor Girkin, a former Russian military officer, sneaked across the border into the Donbas region and with a few dozen men seized the small town of Sloviansk. His army never exceeded 600 men.
(Reuters, 4/12/14)(Econ 5/27/17, p.45)
2014 Apr 13, Ukrainian special forces exchanged gunfire with a pro-Russia militia in the eastern city of Slovyansk, with at least one security officer killed and five others wounded. Separatist protesters seized control of the mayor's office in the town of Mariupol.
(AP, 4/13/14)(Reuters, 4/13/14)
2014 Apr 14, Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said the Kiev leadership was "not against" a referendum being held on the type of state Ukraine should be and added he was sure it would confirm the wish of the majority for a united, independent country.
(Reuters, 4/14/14)
2014 Apr 14, Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov called for the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops in the east of the country, where pro-Russian insurgents have occupied buildings in nearly 10 cities. During the storming of a police station in Horlivka earlier today, one man identified himself as a lieutenant colonel of the Russian army. About 100 pro-Russian protesters armed with bats and rocks stormed a police station in the eastern town of Gorlivka, smashing its windows and grabbing metal shields from police. Pro-Russian militants seized two of Ukrainian soldiers "hostage" in the separatist eastern region of Lugansk.
(AP, 4/14/14)(AFP, 4/14/14)(AFP, 4/16/14)
2014 Apr 14, The EU threatened Russia with more sanctions over its actions in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 4/14/14)
2014 Apr 15, Ukraine government forces repelled an attack by some 30 gunmen at the Kramatorsk airport south of Slovyansk.
(SFC, 4/16/14, p.A2)
2014 Apr 15, German utility company RWE said it has started sending natural gas to Ukraine, a move that could support the country if Russia acts on its threat to cut off supplies because of a massive debt for past deliveries.
(AP, 4/15/14)
2014 Apr 16, In Ukraine a column of 6 armored vehicles flying Russian flags drove into Slovyansk, a city controlled by pro-Russian insurgents. Ukraine's defense ministry said pro-Russia separatists had seized the six armored personnel carriers from Ukrainian armed forces with the help of Russian agents. Ukraine's security service said it had intercepted communications showing that Russian commanders in the separatist east had issued pro-Kremlin militants with "shoot-to-kill" orders.
(AP, 4/16/14)(Reuters, 4/16/14)(AP, 4/16/14)
2014 Apr 17, In Ukraine 3 pro-Russian protesters were killed and 13 injured during an attempted raid overnight on a National Guard base in the Black Sea port of Mariupol. High-level talks aimed at calming soaring tensions over the crisis in Ukraine went into overtime with top diplomats from the United States, European Union, Russia and Ukraine attempting to forge a common position on how to de-escalate the situation. Ukrainian town councilor Volodymyr Rybak and a second man disappeared. He was seen being bundled into a car by masked men in camouflage. His body was found on April 29 near Slaviansk.
(AP, 4/17/14)(Reuters, 4/23/14)
2014 Apr 18, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian insurgents who have occupied government buildings in more than 10 cities said they will not leave them until the country's interim government resigns.
(AP, 4/18/14)
2014 Apr 20, Ukraine and Russia traded blame for a shootout at a checkpoint manned by pro-Russia insurgents in Slovyansk that left three people dead in a mysterious shooting.
(AP, 4/20/14)(Econ, 4/26/14, p.50)
2014 Apr 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to rehabilitate Crimea's Tatars and other minorities who suffered under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, courting a group that largely opposed Moscow's annexation of the region from Ukraine.
(Reuters, 4/21/14)
2014 Apr 22, Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatseniuk said that Russian special forces were operating in the east to undermine a presidential election due on May 25 and he called on Moscow to pull them out. Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov ordered the resumption of military operations in the east, where pro-Russia protesters and masked gunmen have seized government buildings and set up checkpoints on the roads.
(Reuters, 4/22/14)(AP, 4/24/14)
2014 Apr 22, In Ukraine US Vice President Joe Biden delivered an aid package and demanded Russia back off. He also warned Kiev it must tackle the "cancer of corruption."
(Reuters, 4/22/14)
2014 Apr 22, In Ukraine Simon Ostrovsky, a US journalist for Vice News, disappeared. He had been covering the crisis in Ukraine for weeks and was reporting about groups of masked gunmen seizing government buildings in one eastern Ukrainian city after another. Pro-Russian gunmen in eastern Ukraine admitted the next day that they are holding Ostrovsky.
(AP, 4/23/14)
2014 Apr 24, Ukrainian government troops moved against pro-Russia forces in the east of the country and killed at least two of them in clashes at checkpoints manned by the insurgents. Russian President Vladimir Putin decried what he described as a "punitive operation."
(AP, 4/24/14)
2014 Apr 25, Ukrainian special forces launched a second phase of their operation in the east of the country by mounting a full blockade of the rebel-held city of Slaviansk A Ukrainian military helicopter exploded at a base near the eastern town of Kramatorsk after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. In Slovyansk pro-Russian activists detained an eight-member team traveling under the auspices of the OSCE, accusing them of being NATO spies.
(Reuters, 4/25/14)(AP, 4/25/14)(SSFC, 4/27/14, p.A9)
2014 Apr 26, Leaders of the G7 major economies agreed to impose more sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, where armed pro-Moscow separatists have detained a group of international observers they accuse of being NATO spies.
(Reuters, 4/26/14)
2014 Apr 28, In Ukraine Hennady Kernes, the mayor of Kharkiv, was shot in the back and fought to stay alive following an operation. Kernes has insisted he does not support the pro-Russia insurgents and backed a united Ukraine. Pro-Russia insurgents seized more government buildings.
(AP, 4/28/14)
2014 Apr 28, Britain's Serious Fraud Office said it had opened a criminal investigation into possible money laundering associated with corruption in Ukraine and had frozen $23 million of assets in the UK in relation to the case.
(Reuters, 4/29/14)
2014 Apr 28, The European Union added 15 more officials to its Russian sanctions list to protests Moscow's meddling in Ukraine.
(AP, 4/28/14)
2014 Apr 28, The United States levied new sanctions on seven Russian government officials, as well as 17 companies with links to Vladimir Putin's close associates, as the Obama administration seeks to pressure the Russian leader to deescalate the crisis in Ukraine.
(AP, 4/28/14)
2014 Apr 29, In Ukraine demonstrators demanding more power for eastern regions stormed the regional administration building in Luhansk, one of the largest cities in the troubled east.
(AP, 4/29/14)
2014 Apr 29, The EU released the names of 15 new people it is targeting for sanctions because of their roles in the Ukraine crisis.
(AP, 4/29/14)
2014 Apr 29, US Attorney General Eric Holder said the United States is determined to help Ukraine find and recover billions of dollars of assets it says were stolen by its former president and his aides. Holder spoke at the start of a two-day international meeting in London, jointly organized by Britain and the United States and attended by representatives from 35 countries, which is aimed at helping Ukraine's government recover money from President Viktor Yanukovich.
(Reuters, 4/29/14)
2014 Apr 30, In Ukraine insurgents wielding automatic weapons took control and hoisted an insurgent flag on top of the city council building in the city of Horlivka in the Donetsk region. They also took control of a police station in the city. Acting Pres. Turchynov instructed the governors to try to prevent the threat from overtaking more central and southern regions.
(AP, 4/30/14)
2014 May 1, Ukraine ordered the expulsion of Russia's military attaché, saying it had caught him "red-handed" a day earlier receiving classified information on the country's cooperation with NATO. A crowd of some 300 pro-Russian militants attacked the prosecutor's office in the eastern city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 5/1/14)(AFP, 5/1/14)
2014 May 2, In Ukraine pro-Russia forces shot down two government helicopters as the country launched its first major offensive against an insurgency that has seized government buildings in the east. Two crew members were killed in the crashes, and pro-Russia militiaman was reported killed. At least 48 people died in clashes between government supporters and opponents in the Black Sea port of Odessa. Most died when government opponents took refuge in a building that caught fire after protesters threw firebombs inside.
(AP, 5/2/14)(AP, 5/3/14)(Econ, 5/9/15, p.50)
2014 May 3, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russia insurgents released the seven OSCE military observers and five Ukrainian assistants who had been seized on April 25. A team member from Sweden was also seized but was released earlier. 10 people were reported killed in a confrontation with soldiers on the outskirts of Slovyansk. A three-day mourning period was declared in Odessa for those that died a day earlier.
(AP, 5/3/14)
2014 May 5, Ukrainian troops fought pitched gunbattles with a pro-Russia militia occupying Slovyansk. About 800 pro-Russia forces in and around Slovyansk were deploying large-caliber weapons and mortars. A military helicopter was shot down near Slavyansk, but the pilots survived. 30 pro-Russia insurgents and 4 government troops were killed during operations to expunge anti-government forces around Slovyansk. The government sent an elite national guard unit to re-establish control over the southern port city of Odessa.
(AP, 5/514)(Reuters, 5/514)(AP, 5/6/14)
2014 May 7, Poland awarded a prize for championing democracy and human rights to Mustafa Dzhemilev, a leader of the Tatar community in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula who says he was barred from the region after Russia annexed it.
(Reuters, 5/7/14)
2014 May 7, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin urged that a planned May 11 referendum on autonomy in southeast Ukraine be postponed. In a meeting with Swiss president Didier Burkhalter, Putin also called on Ukraine's military to halt all operations against pro-Russia activists who have seized government buildings and police stations across at least a dozen towns in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 5/7/14)
2014 May 8, In eastern Ukraine the pro-Russia insurgency decided to go ahead with a May 11 referendum on autonomy or even independence despite a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone it.
(AP, 5/8/14)
2014 May 9, In Ukraine at least 3 people were killed in a clash between government forces and rebels in the eastern city of Mariupol. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement that 20 "terrorists" and one police officer were killed in fighting that erupted when 60 gunmen tried to capture the Mariupol police station.
(AP, 5/9/14)
2014 May 9, Russia’s President Putin watched as about 11,000 Russian troops proudly marched across Red Square in celebration of Victory Day. He then flew to Crimea and extolled its return to Russia before tens of thousands during his first trip there since its annexation.
(AP, 5/9/14)
2014 May 10, Austrian bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst, the alter ego of 25-year-old Thomas Neuwirth (25), won the Eurovision Song Contest.
(AP, 5/11/14)
2014 May 10, In Ukraine at least 7 people died in clashes in the port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.
(AP, 5/11/14)
2014 May 11, Residents in eastern Ukraine formed long queues at polling stations to cast their votes in hastily organized independence referendums, defying the central government which called the ballots illegal and funded by neighboring Russia.
(AP, 5/11/14)
2014 May 12, In eastern Ukraine insurgents in Luhansk said they wouldn't hold the scheduled May 25 presidential vote.
(AP, 5/13/14)
2014 May 12, Russia made it clear that Moscow has no intention of immediately annexing two regions in eastern Ukraine after a weekend referendum there showed most voters allegedly backing sovereignty.
(AP, 5/12/14)
2014 May 13, Ukraine's PM Arseny Yatseniuk and EU officials signed a deal for 1 billion euro ($1.37 billion) in EU aid for Kiev's beleaguered government as well as for assistance to help build Ukrainian institutions.
(AP, 5/13/14)
2014 May 13, In Ukraine 7 soldiers were ambushed and killed by rebels armed with grenade launchers outside the town of Kramatorsk. Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatseniuk urged Russia not to use natural gas as a "weapon" against his country, and accused Moscow of seizing tens of billions of dollars' worth of its assets and energy resources in Crimea.
(AP, 5/13/14)(Reuters, 5/13/14)(Econ, 5/17/14, p.50)
2014 May 14, The Ukrainian government reluctantly agreed to launch talks on decentralizing power as part of an OSCE backed peace plan, but did not invite its main foes, the pro-Russia insurgents who have declared independence in the east.
(AP, 5/14/14)
2014 May 15, Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told lawmakers that government forces attacked overnight an insurgent base in the city of Slovyansk and another one in nearby Kramatorsk. Rinat Akhmetov's company, Metinvest, agreed with steel plant directors, police and community leaders to help improve security in Mariupol and get insurgents to vacate the buildings they had seized. A representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, which had declared independence, was also a party to the deal.
(AP, 5/15/14)(AP, 5/16/14)
2014 May 15, Russia ratcheted up pressure on Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin saying in a letter released today that it only will deliver gas to its struggling neighbor next month if it pays in advance.
(AP, 5/15/14)
2014 May 17, In Ukraine a second round of European-brokered talks aimed at resolving the crisis. Lawmakers and officials from eastern Ukraine poured criticism on the fledging central government for ignoring the grievances of the regions, which have been overrun for pro-Russian protesters.
(AP, 5/17/14)
2014 May 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops deployed near Ukraine to return to their home bases and praised the launch of a dialogue between the Ukrainian government and its opponents even as fighting continued in the eastern parts of the country.
(AP, 5/19/14)
2014 May 20, The European Commission paid out a first loan tranche of 100 million euros ($137 million) to Ukraine, launching a 1.6 billion euro macro-financial assistance loan program to prop up the beleaguered economy.
(Reuters, 5/20/14)
2014 May 20, The UN refugee agency said at least 10,000 people have been driven from their homes since the start of the Ukraine crisis, with Crimean Tatars the hardest-hit.
(AFP, 5/20/14)
2014 May 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he ordered troops to pull out from the regions near Ukraine to help create a positive environment ahead of the nation's presidential vote. Putin spoke from Shanghai, China, where he attended a security summit.
(AP, 5/21/14)
2014 May 22, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russia insurgents attacked a military checkpoint just north of Donetsk, killing 11 troops and wounding at least 33 others in the deadliest raid yet in weeks of fighting. One insurgent was reported killed. Separatist rebels seized four eastern coal mines and demanded that its workers supply them with explosives.
(AP, 5/22/14)(AFP, 5/22/14)(Reuters, 5/23/14)(Econ, 5/24/14, p.46)
2014 May 23, In Ukraine armed pro-Russian separatists clashed with Ukrainian self-defense fighters near the eastern city of Donetsk, two days before the presidential election, and at least two people were killed.
(Reuters, 5/23/14)
2014 May 24, In eastern Ukraine Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli (30) and Russian interpreter Andrey Mironov were killed while covering fighting between government forces and pro-Russia insurgents. They were reportedly hit by government mortar fire as they were taking shelter in a roadside ditch.
(AP, 5/25/14)
2014 May 25, Ukraine held presidential elections as separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with 5.1 million voters, blocked the vote. Billionaire candy-maker Petro Poroshenko led with about 54 percent in the field of 21 candidates. His campaign ran under the slogan “A new way of living."
(AP, 5/25/14)(AP, 5/26/14)(Econ, 5/31/14, p.48)
2014 May 26, Ukraine's new president-elect Petro Poroshenko promised to negotiate an end to a pro-Russia insurgency in the east, saying he was willing to begin talks with Moscow. Government forces used fighter jets to stop pro-Russia separatists from taking over the Donetsk airport. At least 40 people, including 2 civilians, were killed in the fighting.
(AP, 5/26/14)(AP, 5/27/14)
2014 May 27, Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk was in turmoil a day after government forces used fighter jets to stop pro-Russia separatists from taking over the airport. Dozens were reported killed and the mayor went on television to urge residents to stay indoors. Unidentified men stormed Donetsk's main ice hockey arena and set it ablaze.
(AP, 5/27/14)
2014 May 28, In Ukraine pro-Russian militants conceded that militants from Chechnya had joined their rebellion.
(SFC, 5/29/14, p.A2)
2014 May 29, In Ukraine rebels in the east shot down a government military helicopter amid heavy fighting around Slovyansk in the Donetsk region, killing at least 12 soldiers including Gen. Serhiy Kulchytskiy. An insurgent leader confirmed that his fighters were holding four missing observers and their Ukrainian translator from the OSCE and promised they would be released shortly.
(AP, 5/29/14)(AP, 5/30/14)
2014 May 30, Ukraine told Russia a $786 million partial payment on a bill that Russia says could exceed $5 billion by next week was on its way to Moscow. That averted an immediate threat that Russia would stop supplying the former Soviet republic with gas if it fails to make advance payments.
(Reuters, 5/31/14)
2014 Jun 2, In eastern Ukraine hundreds of armed insurgents attacked a border guards' camp in Luhansk. At least 5 rebels were killed in the clash. There was another rebel attack on a government checkpoint in Slovyansk.
(AP, 6/2/14)
2014 Jun 2, Russia granted Ukraine another week before it will start demanding prepayment for gas, without which it has threatened to cut off supplies.
(AP, 6/2/14)
2014 Jun 3, In eastern Ukraine fighting raged for the second straight day as the army rolled out an offensive against pro-Russia separatists holding the city of Slaviansk and claimed to have inflicted losses on the rebels. 2 government soldiers were killed and 42 injured in daylong fighting.
(Reuters, 6/3/14)(AP, 6/4/14)
2014 Jun 4, Ukraine said that 6 militants were killed and 3 Ukrainian servicemen were injured in 10 hours of fighting overnight at the National Guard base in Luhansk. Pro-Russian insurgents took over two government bases in battles around Luhansk, seizing quantities of ammunition and explosives from a border guards post and taking another installation after National Guard forces ran out of ammunition.
(AP, 6/4/14)
2014 Jun 4, US President Barack Obama endorsed Ukraine's president-elect Petro Poroshenko, offering Kiev financial and security help and saying he was the right choice to lead the country through its stand-off with Moscow. Obama spoke in Warsaw ahead of a G7 meeting in Brussels.
(Reuters, 6/4/14)(AP, 6/4/14)
2014 Jun 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's newly elected leader Petro Poroshenko met in France at the sidelines of ceremonies to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landing in Normandy. They spoke of their desire for a quick end to hostilities in southeastern Ukraine.
(AP, 6/6/14)
2014 Jun 7, In Ukraine newly elected Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as president and called for dialogue with the country’s east. He also took a firm line on Russia's annexation of Crimea this spring, insisting that the Black Sea peninsula "was, is and will be Ukrainian."
(AP, 6/7/14)
2014 Jun 10, Ukraine Pres. Petro Poroshenko ordered security officials to create a corridor for safe passage for civilians in eastern regions to escape fighting. In the east pro-Russian separatists attacked military checkpoints and other strategic points overnight but they were beaten off with only minor casualties on the Ukrainian side. 40 mercenaries were reported killed near the airport of Kramatorsk.
(Reuters, 6/10/14)(SFC, 6/11/14, p.A4)
2014 Jun 10, Ukraine Deputy Tax Minister Ihor Bilous, the country's new tax boss, said his predecessor, Oleksandr Klymenko, was in on a massive fraud, helping to organize a wide network of phantom firms in return for a cut of the cash. The criminals, he said, operated with impunity. Klymenko, who has fled the country, denied the charges.
(AP, 6/10/14)
2014 Jun 10, Russia’s PM Dmitry Medvedev gave the government's blessing to Aeroflot’s new low-cost airline serving newly-annexed Crimea, as he inspected a Dobrolyot (Good Flight) Boeing-737 ahead of its maiden flight from Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.
(Reuters, 6/10/14)
2014 Jun 11, Russia offered to restore the discounted prices it granted Ukraine under the ousted pro-Russian president, but Ukraine demanded an even better deal and called for arbitration to settle the dispute.
(AP, 6/11/14)
2014 Jun 12, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko signaled he would be ready to hold talks with opponents in eastern Ukraine if pro-Russian separatists waging an insurgency there agreed to lay down their weapons. Interior Minister Arseny Avakov accused Russia of allowing three tanks and other military vehicles to cross the border into east Ukraine to help pro-Russian separatists there.
(Reuters, 6/12/14)
2014 Jun 13, Ukraine's interior minister said that government troops have reclaimed the southern port of Mariupol, the second-largest city in the Donetsk region, from pro-Russian separatists. Rebel leaders confirmed they have three tanks.
(Reuters, 6/13/14)
2014 Jun 13, Ukraine said it was ready to pay a compromise price for Russian natural gas for 18 months to avert the threat of Moscow cutting off supplies and allow time to reach a long-term pricing agreement.
(Reuters, 6/13/14)
2014 Jun 14, Afghans voted in a presidential runoff between two candidates, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah (53) and ex-World Bank official and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (64). A series of rockets slammed into areas in the eastern Khost province, near the Pakistani border, killing 6 civilians and wounding eight. A mortar shell killed 2 civilians and wounded three in Logar province.
(AP, 6/14/14)
2014 Jun 14, In Bangladesh arson attacks and clashes between local residents and Urdu-speaking stateless people left 10 people dead in Dhaka.
(AP, 6/14/14)
2014 Jun 14, Spanish and Moroccan security forces drove back 1,000 African migrants who tried to scramble over a border fence from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Melilla.
(AFP, 6/14/14)
2014 Jun 14, In Ukraine pro-Russia separatists shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane as it approached the airport at Luhansk, killing all 49 crew and troops aboard in a bloody escalation of the conflict in the country's restive east.
(AP, 6/14/14)
2014 Jun 15, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko declared a day of mourning and vowed to punish those responsible after pro-Russia separatists shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane a day earlier.
(AP, 6/15/14)
2014 Jun 15, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO is preparing measures to help Ukraine defend itself in its stand-off with Russia, and must adapt to the fact that Moscow now views it as an adversary.
(Reuters, 6/15/14)
2014 Jun 16, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko called for a truce in east Ukraine, where his government faces a rebellion by pro-Russian separatists, to provide time to seek agreement on a peace plan.
(Reuters, 6/16/14)
2014 Jun 16, Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine as a payment deadline passed and negotiators failed to reach a deal on gas prices and unpaid bills amid continued fighting in eastern Ukraine. Gazprom announced that it is suing Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz in an international court for the $4.5 billion. Naftogaz said it has also filed a suit against Gazprom, seeking a "fair and market-based price" for gas, as well as a repayment of $6 billion for what it said were overpayments for gas from 2010.
(AP, 6/16/14)
2014 Jun 17, Ukraine received 500 million euros ($680 million) from the EU to help stabilize the country and shore up its ailing economy.
(AP, 6/17/14)
2014 Jun 17, In Ukraine Russian correspondent Igor Kornelyuk (37) died during surgery in a hospital after being wounded by mortar fire while on assignment in Luhansk. Sound engineer Viktor Denisov was also confirmed dead.
(AP, 6/17/14)(SFC, 6/18/14, p.A2)
2014 Jun 17, In central Ukraine an explosion rocked the main pipeline carrying Russian natural gas to the rest of Europe but a source at Russian gas producer Gazprom said the blast has not disrupted the gas flow.
(Reuters, 6/17/14)
2014 Jun 18, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko set out proposals for a peace plan for eastern Ukraine involving a unilateral ceasefire by government forces. This followed a late-night telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters, 6/18/14)
2014 Jun 19, Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists were locked in fierce fighting in the east after rebels rejected a call to lay down their arms in line with a peace plan proposed by Pres. Petro Poroshenko.
(Reuters, 6/19/14)
2014 Jun 20, In Ukraine 7 government troops were killed in overnight fighting in the Donetsk region, as clashes between government forces and pro-Russia rebels flared ahead of the publication of a presidential peace plan that includes a unilateral cease-fire.
(AP, 6/20/14)
2014 Jun 20, The US issued new sanctions against seven Ukraine separatists accused of stoking violence against their capital in Kiev.
(AP, 6/20/14)
2014 Jun 21, Ukraine reported no large-scale fighting, the first full day of what is to be a six-and-a-half-day stand-down by the Ukrainian military. Separatist leaders have rejected the cease-fire and said they will not disarm. The Ukrainian Border Guard Service reported overnight attacks on two border posts in the Donetsk region, which left three troops injured, hours after the cease-fire was announced.
(AP, 6/21/14)
2014 Jun 22, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko agreed to dialogue with separatists not implicated in "murder and torture" as he laid out a peace plan that Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to back as fighting flared between government and pro-Moscow separatist forces.
(AFP, 6/22/14)(Reuters, 6/22/14)
2014 Jun 24, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said pro-Russian separatists in the east had violated a ceasefire with overnight attacks that killed one government soldier.
(Reuters, 6/24/14)
2014 Jun 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked parliament to cancel a resolution sanctioning the use of military force in Ukraine.
(AP, 6/24/14)
2014 Jun 25, In Ukraine rebels and government forces traded fire in Slavyansk oblivious to the week-long truce ordered by Ukraine's new president and backed by a top leader of the pro-Russian separatists.
(AFP, 6/25/14)
2014 Jun 25, On Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand, the upper house of the Russian parliament canceled a resolution allowing the use of military in Ukraine.
(AP, 6/25/14)
2014 Jun 26, Ukrainian separatist rebels agreed to take part in further peace talks on Jun 27 to end the conflict in the eastern regions.
(Reuters, 6/26/14)
2014 Jun 27, In Ukraine pro-Russian separatist leaders and mediators for the Kiev government met in the city of Donetsk in new consultations on ending the fighting in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east. President Petro Poroshenko told EU leaders he was extending a ceasefire in east Ukraine for three days. Rebels in the southeast released four out of eight OSCE observers, captured over a month ago.
(Reuters, 6/27/14)
2014 Jun 27, European Union leaders signed broad trade and economic deals with non-member countries Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
(AP, 6/27/14)
2014 Jun 27, EU leaders set June 30 as the deadline for the release of prisoners in east Ukraine and for the terms of a lasting ceasefire, warning Moscow they were ready to impose further sanctions.
(Reuters, 6/27/14)
2014 Jun 28, In Ukraine pro-Russian insurgents released the last four OSCE observers held since their seizure in late May in Luhansk.
(SSFC, 6/29/14, p.A8)
2014 Jun 29, In eastern Ukraine veteran cameraman Anatoly Klyan (68), who worked for Russia's Channel One, was killed when a bus carrying journalists and soldiers' mothers was hit by gunfire near Avdiivka, just north of Donetsk.
(AP, 6/30/14)
2014 Jun 30, France said the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to work on the adoption of a ceasefire in Ukraine as well as the establishment of effective border controls.
(Reuters, 6/30/14)
2014 Jul 1, Ukrainian forces struck at pro-Russian separatist bases in eastern regions with air and artillery strikes after President Petro Poroshenko announced he would not renew a ceasefire but go on the offensive to rid Ukraine of "parasites." Rebels captured the Interior Ministry headquarters in Donetsk.
(Reuters, 7/1/14)(AP, 7/1/14)
2014 Jul 2, In Ukraine 4 soldiers were killed as government forces carried out over 100 attacks on rebel positions and forced pro-Russia separatists out of three eastern villages.
(AP, 7/2/14)
2014 Jul 3, Ukraine's Pres. Poroshenko shook up the leadership of his struggling military, appointing a new defense minister and top general tasked with stamping out the corruption that has left the country's armed forces faltering before a pro-Russian insurgency. Three helicopters bearing the markings of the Russian armed forces violated Ukrainian airspace several times. Ukraine followed up with protests to Russia.
(AP, 7/3/14)(Reuters, 7/4/14)
2014 Jul 4, Ukraine National Security Council Secretary Andriy Parubiy said government troops have recaptured more than a dozen eastern villages from pro-Russia separatists but Russia is allowing the rebels to attack Ukrainian border posts from its territory. At least 13 military personnel were killed in separate incidents in fighting against pro-Russian rebels in the east. Insurgents in the Luhansk province said that they have killed 125 Ukrainian troops since July 2.
(AP, 7/4/14)(Reuters, 7/4/14)
2014 Jul 5, Ukraine's forces claimed a significant success against pro-Russian insurgents, chasing them from Slovyansk, one of their strongholds in the embattled east of the country. More than a hundred militiamen were said to have been killed in the last three days.
(AP, 7/5/14)
2014 Jul 5, Metropolitan Volodymyr (78), head of Ukraine's Moscow-linked parish of the Orthodox Church, died in Kiev.
(AP, 7/5/14)
2014 Jul 7, In Ukraine three bridges on key roads leading into the Donetsk were blown up in an apparent attempt to slow down any possible assault by government forces on the rebel-held stronghold.
(AP, 7/7/14)
2014 Jul 8, Ukraine's government signaled its intention to press on with its campaign against pro-Russian rebels and the militants, regrouping after losing their stronghold, said they were preparing to fight back.
(Reuters, 7/8/14)
2014 Jul 9, Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed in two night attacks in different parts of the east.
(Reuters, 7/10/14)
2014 Jul 9, Russian officials said Ukrainian air force pilot Nadezhda Savchenko (31), has been arrested in Russia and charged with abetting the June 17 killing of two Russian journalists. She was captured by separatist rebels last month.
(AP, 7/9/14)
2014 Jul 10, In eastern Ukraine Vladimir Antyufeyev (63), also known as Vadim Shevtsov, was named "deputy prime minister" by separatist leader Aleksander Borodai. He was one of several native Russians to have taken charge of the separatist rebellion in Ukraine's eastern regions.
(Reuters, 7/27/14)
2014 Jul 10, Ukrainian forces regained more ground but sustained further casualties in clashes with separatists. France and Germany urged Russia's Vladimir Putin to exert more pressure on the rebels to find a negotiated end to the conflict.
(Reuters, 7/10/14)
2014 Jul 11, In Ukraine pro-Russia rebels fired missiles at government troops near the Russian border, killing at least 19 servicemen.
(AP, 7/11/14)
2014 Jul 11, The Canadian government of PM Stephen Harper added 14 individuals to a list of people facing economic sanctions and travel bans related to the Ukrainian crisis. This brings to 43 the number of Russians targeted by Canada in sanctions coordinated with the US and the EU. Thirty pro-Russian Ukrainians have also been hit with visa bans and other measures by Ottawa.
(AFP, 7/12/14)
2014 Jul 12, In eastern Ukraine artillery fire killed at least 4 people in an overnight attack on a residential area, spurring more people to flee the besieged city of Donetsk and its suburbs.
(AP, 7/12/14)
2014 Jul 12, The EU moved to impose sanctions on 11 leaders of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow rebellion. Targets of the asset freeze and travel ban included two Russian spin doctors, Alexander Borodai, prime minister of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic, and his counterpart in the Luhansk People's Republic, Marat Bashirov.
(AP, 7/12/14)
2014 Jul 13, Russia threatened Ukraine with "irreversible consequences" after a man was killed by a shell fired across the border from Ukraine. Kiev said it had bombarded a convoy of 100 armored vehicles and trucks that had crossed into Ukraine carrying in rebel fighters from Russia. It also said 7 of its troops had been killed in attacks. The Donetsk city council said that 12 people had been killed at a mining settlement nearby. Municipal authorities in Luhansk said 6 people were killed in clashes there.
(Reuters, 7/13/14)
2014 Jul 14, Ukraine's Defense Minister said a military transport plane has been shot down along the country's eastern border with Russia. All eight aboard the plane managed to bail out safely. Kiev later said it has found four survivors, that two others are being held by rebels, and that it does not know the fate of the remaining two. President Petro Poroshenko accused Russian military staff officers of fighting alongside separatists in the east of the country and said a newly-developed Russian missile system was being used against government forces.
(AP, 7/14/14)(Reuters, 7/14/14)(SFC, 7/15/14, p.A3)(Reuters, 7/16/14)
2014 Jul 14, Russia’s foreign ministry said it has invited monitors from the OSCE European security and rights body to two of its border crossings with Ukraine as a sign of goodwill. A NATO military officer said Russia has been building up its forces again along the Ukrainian border and now has an estimated 10,000-12,000 troops in the area.
(Reuters, 7/14/14)
2014 Jul 15, In eastern Ukraine an airstrike demolished an apartment block, killing at least 11 civilians. The government denied blame.
(AP, 7/15/14)(SFC, 7/16/14, p.A2)
2014 Jul 16, In Ukraine fighting raged in the country’s east when separatists tried to break through the lines of government forces near the border with Russia and a tentative step towards agreeing conditions for a ceasefire failed. 11 more Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the space of 24 hours while hundreds of bodies of rebels were found in shallow graves in the former separatist stronghold of Slaviansk.
(Reuters, 7/16/14)
2014 Jul 16, Russian jets reportedly shot down a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter plane that was on military operations near Amvrosiyivka, about 15 km (about 9 miles) from the border with Russia, where government forces fought to quell a pro-Russian separatist rebellion. Russia denied that it shot down the plane.
(Reuters, 7/17/14)
2014 Jul 17, In eastern Ukraine separatists carried out 27 attacks on army checkpoints and positions of government forces over the last 24 hours leaving 5 Ukrainian servicemen killed.
(Reuters, 7/17/14)
2014 Jul 17, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with 298 people on board was shot down over eastern Ukraine. Officials strongly suspected the Boeing 777 was downed by a missile fired by Ukrainian separatists backed by Moscow. More than half of the dead passengers, 189 people, were Dutch. Twenty-nine were Malaysian, 27 Australian, 12 Indonesian, nine British, four German, four Belgian, three Filipino, one Canadian, one New Zealand and 4 as yet unidentified. All 15 crew were Malaysian.
(Reuters, 7/18/14)
2014 Jul 17, Ukraine's SBU security agency released recordings of what it claimed were phone talks involving rebels and a Russian military intelligence officer admitting that they had hit a passenger jet after mistaking it for a military aircraft.
(AFP, 7/20/14)
2014 Jul 18, In eastern Ukraine emergency workers, police officers and even off-duty coal miners searched the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 shot down a day earlier as it flew miles above the country's battlefield. Ukraine's state aviation service closed the airspace over two regions currently gripped by separatist fighting. 18 civilians were killed by government shelling.
(AP, 7/18/14)(Econ, 7/26/14, p.20)
2014 Jul 18, The European Union took the next step towards imposing tougher sanctions on Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis by agreeing the legal basis for widening its list of targets.
(AFP, 7/19/14)
2014 Jul 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a ceasefire by pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces fighting in eastern Ukraine to allow for negotiations.
(Reuters, 7/18/14)
2014 Jul 19, Ukraine accused Russia and pro-Moscow rebels of destroying evidence of "international crimes" as guerrillas and foreign observers faced off over access to the wreckage of the downed Malaysian airliner.
(Reuters, 7/19/14)
2014 Jul 20, Ukraine accused separatist rebels of hiding evidence that a Russian missile was used to shoot down a Malaysian airliner, while Britain said Moscow faced "pariah" status and the threat of further economic sanctions. Ukraine's Western-backed government said it had "compelling evidence" the Russian SA-11 radar-guided missile battery was not just brought in from Russia but manned by three Russians who had now taken it back over the border.
(Reuters, 7/20/14)
2014 Jul 21, In eastern Ukraine fighting flared in the city of Donetsk as investigators began to inspect the bodies of victims of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 last week. Four people were reported killed in the clashes. 13 government troops were killed in fighting in the east when "terrorists" attacked the army and their roadblocks 20 times.
(Reuters, 7/21/14)(Reuters, 7/22/14)
2014 Jul 22, In Ukraine five refrigerated wagons containing 200 body bags arrived in the city of Kharkiv after pro-Russian separatists agreed to hand over the black boxes from MH17 to Malaysian authorities and the bodies to the Netherlands, where many victims had lived.
(Reuters, 7/22/14)
2014 Jul 22, Ukraine’s government said the separatists were leaving their positions on the outskirts of Donetsk and retreating towards the city center.
(Reuters, 7/23/14)
2014 Jul 22, Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Vostok Battalion, acknowledged for the first time since MH17 airliner was brought down in eastern Ukraine that the rebels did possess the BUK missile system and said it could have been sent back subsequently to remove proof of its presence.
(Reuters, 7/24/14)
2014 Jul 22, The EU agreed to impose new sanctions against officials deemed responsible for Russia's actions in Ukraine, amid mounting international anger after a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over rebel-held territory.
(AP, 7/22/14)
2014 Jul 23, Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said reverse gas flows from the EU to Ukraine had fallen because of opposition from Russian gas producer Gazprom.
(Reuters, 7/23/14)
2014 Jul 23, Pro-Russian rebels shot down two Ukrainian fighter jets, not far from where a Malaysian airliner was brought down last week in eastern Ukraine. Local health officials said 432 people had been killed and 1,015 wounded since hostilities started in the Donetsk region.
(Reuters, 7/23/14)
2014 Jul 23, In eastern Ukraine Graham Phillips, a British journalist reporting for a Russian television channel, went missing, with Moscow alleging he and another journalist (Vadim) were captured by Kiev's troops. CNN journalist Anton Skiba was reportedly abducted in Donetsk.
(AFP, 7/23/14)
2014 Jul 24, Ukraine's PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigned in a shock move in protest at the disbanding of the ruling parliamentary coalition, plunging the strife-torn nation into political uncertainty. The formal dissolution of the majority coalition in the Verkhovna Rada gives President Petro Poroshenko the right over the next month to announce a fresh parliamentary poll.
(AFP, 7/24/14)
2014 Jul 24, The United States said it had evidence Russian forces were firing artillery from inside Russia on Ukrainian troops, in what officials called a "clear escalation" of the conflict.
(AFP, 7/24/14)
2014 Jul 25, Ukraine government forces took the strategically-important city of Lysychansk. It also reported losing 13 soldiers in the past 24 hours. Local authorities in the region of rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Lugansk said 16 people have been killed. A military spokesman said troops were coming under increased fire from the Russian side of the border and that the Ukrainian military had shot down three Russian surveillance drones. The house of Andry Sadovy, mayor of the western city of Lviv, was hit by a rocket fired late today.
(AFP, 7/25/14)(SFC, 7/26/14, p.A4)(AFP, 7/26/14)
2014 Jul 25, A Russian security official said up to 40 mortar shells fired by Ukrainian forces fell on the Russian province of Rostov near the border with eastern Ukraine where Kiev is fighting pro-Russian separatists.
(Reuters, 7/25/14)
2014 Jul 25, The Russian agency in charge of agricultural products said it is banning imports of Ukrainian dairy starting because of numerous quality flaws found in its products. Russia is a key market for Ukrainian dairy products. Kiev dismissed the move as politically motivated.
(AP, 7/25/14)
2014 Jul 25, The European Union extended its Ukraine-related sanctions to target top Russian intelligence officials and leaders of the pro-Russia revolt in eastern Ukraine. The action brought the total number of people under EU sanction in connection with Russia's annexation of Crimea and the revolt in eastern Ukraine to 87.
(AP, 7/26/14)
2014 Jul 26, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his country was not fighting a civil war in its east but was fighting "foreign mercenaries." Rebels in Luhansk said at least 19 civilians had been killed in fighting overnight and local officials said 60 percent of the city was left with no electricity after power lines were damaged. Local authorities said they have uncovered the first mass grave in the former separatist bastion of Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine, containing the bodies of at least 4 civilians they say were executed by pro-Russian rebels.
(Reuters, 7/26/14)(AFP, 7/26/14)
2014 Jul 26, In Ukraine Oleg Babayev, mayor of the central-eastern city of Kremenchuk, was shot dead by alleged separatists not far from his home.
(AFP, 7/26/14)
2014 Jul 27, The US stepped up pressure on Moscow by releasing satellite images it says show that rockets have been fired from Russia into neighboring eastern Ukraine and that heavy artillery for pro-Russian separatists has crossed the border.
(AP, 7/27/14)
2014 Jul 28, In eastern Ukraine heavy fighting raged around the Malaysia Airlines debris field, once again preventing an international police team charged with securing the site from even getting there. A government-supported volunteer battalion said in a statement that it lost 23 soldiers during fighting in a town called Lutuhyne. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a report that at least 1,129 people have been killed between mid-April, when fighting began, and July 26.
(AP, 7/28/14)
2014 Jul 28, Japan said it is imposing more sanctions against Russia over its support for pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine who are accused of shooting down a Malaysian jet.
(AP, 7/29/14)
2014 Jul 29, In eastern Ukraine shelling in at least three cities hit a home for the elderly, a school and multiple homes, adding to a rapidly growing civilian death toll. At least 24 civilians and 10 soldiers were reported killed and another 55 wounded in fighting over the past day.
(AP, 7/29/14)(SFC, 7/30/14, p.A4)
2014 Jul 30, The EU targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle for the first time for the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine.
(AP, 7/31/14)
2014 Jul 31, In eastern Ukraine an international team of investigators reached the crash site of the Malaysia Airline Flight 17 for the first time.
(AP, 7/31/14)
2014 Aug 1, In eastern Ukraine a team of several dozen international investigators descended on the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash site. At least 10 Ukrainian soldiers were killed when their convoy was ambushed by pro-Russian separatist rebels in a town close to the wreckage site. The mayor of Lugansk warned that the insurgent stronghold is on the verge a humanitarian catastrophe, as a siege by government troops has seen water, electricity and food supplies cut off.
(AP, 8/1/14)(AFP, 8/2/14)
2014 Aug 1, Britain's state-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland said it has capped lending in Russia after the imposition this week of new economic sanctions against Moscow linked to the Ukraine crisis.
(AFP, 8/1/14)
2014 Aug 3, In eastern Ukraine fighting raged on the western outskirts of Donetsk as the advancing Ukrainian army tried to seize control of the rebel stronghold. In danger of being encircled, the separatists renewed their calls for Russia to send troops to their aid.
(AP, 8/3/14)
2014 Aug 4, Ukraine said 5 government soldiers were killed and 15 wounded over the last 24 hours in fighting in the east where Kiev forces recaptured an important railway hub from pro-Russian rebels. Ukraine acknowledged that 311 soldiers and border guards had been forced by fighting with separatists to cross into Russia.
(Reuters, 8/4/14)(AP, 8/4/14)(Reuters, 8/5/14)
2014 Aug 5, Ukrainian government forces, backed by warplanes, kept up a military offensive to claw back lost territory from pro-Russian separatists while casting a nervous eye at Russian military exercises over the border. Terrified residents fled the besieged rebel bastion of Donetsk along a perilous humanitarian corridor. The Donetsk city administration said in a statement published online that 3 people were killed in shelling overnight.
(Reuters, 8/5/14)(AFP, 8/5/14)(AP, 8/6/14)
2014 Aug 5, Japan unveiled details of financial sanctions against 40 individuals and two groups involved in the annexation of Crimea and destabilization of eastern Ukraine.
(AFP, 8/5/14)
2014 Aug 6, Russian photographer Andrei Stenin (33) was believed killed while travelling along with a convoy of refugees that came under fire from Ukrainian tanks and armored personnel carriers. His death was confirmed on Sep 3.
(AFP, 9/3/14)
2014 Aug 7, In eastern Ukraine a Dutch recovery team called off its work at the site where Malaysian airliner MH 17 was shot down over rebel held territory last month, saying the frontline location had become too dangerous. Ukraine said the halt to the recovery meant it would stop observing a ceasefire at the site. 7 more Ukrainian service members were killed in the past day of fighting. Sustained shelling in Donetsk struck residential buildings and a hospital, killing at least 4 people and wounding 10 others. Russian citizen Alexander Borodai, the PM of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said he was stepping down in favor of a local field commander, Alexander Zakharchenko.
(Reuters, 8/7/14)(AP, 8/7/14)(AFP, 8/7/14)
2014 Aug 8, Ukrainian army units, which had been trapped by separatists on the border with Russia, broke out of the blockade and rejoined government forces, but 15 soldiers and border guards were killed in the operation. At least 3 civilians were killed and another 10 wounded in overnight shelling of Donetsk, the main rebel stronghold besieged by government forces. The shelling came a few days after rebels had positioned a Grad multiple rocket launcher near the apartment building and fired at Ukrainian positions.
(Reuters, 8/8/14)(AP, 8/8/14)
2014 Aug 9, Ukraine said it had headed off an attempt by Russia to send troops into Ukraine under the guise of peacekeepers with the aim of provoking a large-scale military conflict. Government forces reportedly seized Krasnyi Luch, which lies on one of two main roads between Donetsk and the other rebel-held city of Luhansk.
(Reuters, 8/9/14)(AP, 8/9/14)
2014 Aug 10, In southeastern Ukraine artillery pounded the rebel bastion of Donetsk as the West warned Russia that any attempt to send "humanitarian" troops into the conflict-torn region would be unacceptable. Rockets late today slammed into a high-security prison in Donetsk, igniting a riot that allowed more than 100 prisoners to flee.
(AFP, 8/10/14)(AP, 8/11/14)
2014 Aug 10, Interfax news reported that five Ukrainian soldiers, who were detained after crossing the border into Russia, have been released back to their unit. The five were among 18 against whom Russia had opened criminal investigations. Twenty-eight Ukrainian border guard officers were also being held in Russia.
(Reuters, 8/10/14)
2014 Aug 12, A convoy of 280 Russian trucks reportedly packed with aid traveled some 500 km (300 miles) to the southwestern Russian town of Voronezh as it headed for eastern Ukraine, but Kiev said it would only allow the goods through under the close supervision of the international Red Cross.
(AP, 8/12/14)(Reuters, 8/13/14)
2014 Aug 13, In eastern Ukraine 12 nationalist fighters, battling a pro-Russian insurgency, were killed early today and an unknown number taken captive when rebels ambushed their bus. More than 100 Russian soldiers were killed near the town of Snizhnye, Donetsk Province, while helping pro-Russian separatists fight Ukrainian troops.
(Reuters, 8/13/14)(Reuters, 8/28/14)
2014 Aug 13, A Russian convoy of nearly 300 trucks, carrying what Russia says is humanitarian aid for victims of fighting in eastern Ukraine, moved slowly towards the border despite concerns by Kiev and the West over the shipment. The UN said the death toll in fighting in eastern Ukraine had doubled in the last two weeks to over 2,000. Ukraine said it could allow Russian aid to enter the country after it was inspected by Ukrainian border guards and foreign monitors.
(Reuters, 8/13/14)(AFP, 8/13/14)(AFP, 8/14/14)
2014 Aug 14, The Ukrainian parliament approved a law to impose sanctions on Russian companies and individuals supporting and financing separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 8/14/14)
2014 Aug 14, In eastern Ukraine artillery shells hit close to the center of Donetsk for the first time, killing at least one person. Kiev repeated that a Russian aid convoy could not enter until Ukrainian authorities had cleared its cargo. Shelling over the last 24 hours killed at least 22 residents in the besieged rebel-held bastion of Lugansk. Valery Bolotov, head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, announced his resignation, saying he was injured and could not carry on in his role. Igor Strelkov (aka Igor Girkin), an alleged Russian intelligence colonel, quit as a key rebel chief.
(Reuters, 8/14/14)(AFP, 8/14/14)
2014 Aug 14, Ukrainian hackers hostile to the government claimed to have launched a cyber-attack against the websites of Poland's presidency and the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
(AFP, 8/14/14)
2014 Aug 15, Dozens of heavy Russian military vehicles massed near the border with Ukraine, while Ukrainian border guards crossed the frontier to inspect a huge Russian aid convoy. Shelling killed 11 civilians and wounded eight more over the past 24 hours in the besieged rebel stronghold of Donetsk. NATO and Ukraine said Russian military vehicles did cross into Ukraine during the night and the Ukrainian president said most of them were destroyed by his troops.
(Reuters, 8/15/14)(AFP, 8/15/14)(AP, 8/15/14)
2014 Aug 15, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto told his counterpart Vladimir Putin that Western sanctions against Moscow and the food ban Russia introduced in response were damaging bilateral ties and proposed to seek ways to end the Ukraine crisis.
(Reuters, 8/15/14)
2014 Aug 16, Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists fought skirmishes near the Russian border but there was no sign of the conflict widening after Kiev said it partially destroyed an armored column that had crossed the border from Russia. A rebel Internet news outlet said that separatist fighters had killed 30 members of a Ukrainian government battalion in fighting in Luhansk province. Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said 3 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed over the past 24 hours. Alexander Zakharchenko, self-proclaimed separatist government in the Donetsk region, said newly-trained fighters have 150 armored vehicles, including 30 tanks, and have gathered near a "corridor" along the Russian border.
(Reuters, 8/16/14)(AP, 8/17/14)
2014 Aug 16, Ukraine government forces captured a district police station in Luhansk after bitter clashes in the Velika Vergunka neighborhood. Separatists shot down a Ukrainian fighter plane over the Luhansk region after it launched an attack on rebels.
(AP, 8/17/14)
2014 Aug 17, In eastern Ukraine Donetsk city authorities said 10 civilians have been killed and eight wounded in the past 24 hours.
(AP, 8/17/14)
2014 Aug 18, In eastern Ukraine government forces pressed pro-Russian separatists in fighting overnight, encircling the rebel-held town of Horlivka and taking control of smaller settlements. 17 civilians were killed in a rebel attack on a convoy of people on the main road leading to Russia from the besieged rebel-held city of Luhansk.
(Reuters, 8/18/14)(AP, 8/18/14)(Reuters, 8/21/14)
2014 Aug 19, A Ukrainian military spokesman said 15 bodies have been recovered from the site of an artillery strike a day earlier on a refugee bus convoy in east Ukraine. Further recovery operations were suspended due to renewed fighting in the area. Government troops fought pro-Russian rebels in the streets of Luhansk and captured most of Ilovaysk town near the eastern city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 8/19/14)(AP, 8/19/14)
2014 Aug 19, Ukraine said it has blocked 14 Russian television channels from its cable networks to stop them spreading war propaganda.
(Reuters, 8/19/14)
2014 Aug 20, A Ukrainian official said government troops have taken control of a large part of Luhansk (Lugansk) after days of street battles with rebels. A Ukrainian warplane was blown out of the sky over rebel-held territory as fierce clashes between government troops and pro-Russian insurgents left dozens of civilians dead. Clashes in and around the rebel stronghold of Donetsk killed 43 civilians in the past 24 hours.
(AP, 8/20/14)(AFP, 8/20/14)
2014 Aug 20, Russian police arrested four people who climbed a Moscow skyscraper and attached a Ukrainian flag to its spire. They were charged with vandalism and may face three years in jail.
(Reuters, 8/20/14)
2014 Aug 21, Ukrainian border guards began to inspect a Russian truck convoy carrying aid earmarked for humanitarian relief in eastern Ukraine that has been stranded at the frontier for nearly a week. A Ukrainian military spokesman said 3 refugees including a child (5) were killed near Luhansk when rebel gunfire hit their car. 5 Ukrainian servicemen were also reported killed overnight.
(Reuters, 8/21/14)
2014 Aug 21, Ukrainian Economy Minister Pavlo Sheremeta said he had tendered his resignation, voicing frustration at the poor pace of economic reform by a government which he said acted "like a predator towards business".
(Reuters, 8/21/14)
2014 Aug 21, Russian natural gas exporter Gazprom said that Ukraine's outstanding debt for gas supplies stood at $5.3 billion as of Aug. 1 and called on Kiev to ensure that gas continues to transit without disruption to Europe.
(Reuters, 8/21/14)
2014 Aug 22, Ukraine declared that Russia had launched a "direct invasion" of its territory after Moscow sent a convoy of aid trucks across the border into eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian rebels are fighting government forces. Ukrainian officials said only 34 or 35 of over 100 trucks had been properly checked.
(Reuters, 8/22/14)
2014 Aug 23, Hundreds of trucks from a disputed Russian aid convoy to rebel-held eastern Ukraine rolled back across the border into Russia but questions about alleged Russian artillery in Ukraine still remained.
(AP, 8/23/14)
2014 Aug 25, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko dissolved the Rada (parliament).
(Econ, 8/30/14, p.509)
2014 Aug 25, Ukraine forces captured 10 Russian paratroopers, near a village about 30 miles southeast of the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, and about 15 miles away from the Russian border.
(Reuters, 8/26/14)
2014 Aug 25, Russia announced plans for a second aid convoy into Ukraine. The Ukrainian military said a group of Russian forces, in the guise of separatist rebels, had crossed into south-east Ukraine with 10 tanks and two armored infantry vehicles. It said border guards had halted the column outside Novoazovsk.
(AFP, 8/25/14)(Reuters, 8/25/14)
2014 Aug 26, In Belarus Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, urged him not to escalate an offensive against pro-Moscow rebels, and threatened economic retaliation for signing a trade accord with the EU. Poroshenko replied by demanding a halt to arms shipments from Russia to the separatist fighters.
(Reuters, 8/26/14)
2014 Aug 27, In southeastern Ukraine pro-Russian rebel forces entered the key town of Novoazovsk after three days of heavy shelling. The new southeastern front has raised fears the separatists are seeking to create a land link between Russia and Crimea. The Ukrainian military said that more Russian soldiers had crossed the border entering the small town of Amvrosiyivka in five armored infantry carriers and a truck.
(AP, 8/27/14)(Reuters, 8/27/14)
2014 Aug 28, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that Russian forces had entered his country and the military conflict was worsening after Russian-backed separatists swept into a key town in the east. NATO said well over 1,000 Russian troops are now operating inside Ukraine. 15 civilians were reported killed in shelling in Donetsk.
(Reuters, 8/28/14)
2014 Aug 28, In central Russia several dozen women gathered outside a military base in Kostroma to demand that commanders come clean about the whereabouts of their husbands after reports of secret funerals for soldiers covertly sent to Ukraine.
(AFP, 8/28/14)
2014 Aug 29, Ukraine said it would seek the protection of NATO membership after what Kiev and its Western allies say is the open participation of the Russian military in the war in the eastern provinces. Pro-Moscow rebels said they would comply with a request from the Kremlin and open up a 'humanitarian corridor' to allow the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops they have encircled.
(Reuters, 8/29/14)
2014 Aug 30, In eastern Ukraine a group of pro-government fighters broke out of encirclement by Russian-backed separatists near Donetsk, but other reports suggested many were still trapped. Ukraine handed over 10 captured Russian paratroops and Russia returned 63 Ukrainian soldiers who crossed into its territory last week.
(Reuters, 8/30/14)(Reuters, 8/31/14)
2014 Aug 30, A Ukrainian civilian cargo plane with 7 crew members crashed in the mountains of Algeria while on its way to Equatorial Guinea.
(SSFC, 8/31/14, p.A5)
2014 Aug 30, EU leaders agreed to ask the executive European Commission to draw up more sanctions measures against Russia, as armored columns of Russian troops came to the aid of the rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 8/31/14)
2014 Aug 31, A Ukraine naval vessel in the Azov Sea came under artillery attack from the shore today, in what pro-Russian rebels claimed as the first sea victory of their separatist war.
(Reuters, 8/31/14)
2014 Aug 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for immediate talks on "statehood" for southern and eastern Ukraine, although his spokesman said this did not mean Moscow now endorsed rebel calls for independence for territory they have seized.
(Reuters, 8/31/14)
2014 Sep 1, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russia of "direct and undisguised aggression" which he said had radically changed the battlefield balance as Kiev's forces suffered a further reverse in their war with pro-Moscow separatists. Ukrainian forces were forced to retreat from Lugansk airport in the face of a Russian troop attack as Moscow soldiers moved into key eastern cities.
(Reuters, 9/1/14)(AFP, 9/1/14)
2014 Sep 1, Australia ratcheted up sanctions against Russia in line with the United States and EU in response to Russian soldiers openly violating Ukraine sovereignty.
(AP, 9/1/14)
2014 Sep 1, In Belarus pro-Russian rebels softened their demand for full independence, saying they would respect Ukraine's sovereignty in exchange for autonomy — a shift that reflects Moscow's desire to strike a deal at a new round of peace talks.
(AP, 9/1/14)
2014 Sep 2, Ukraine’s military said Russian troops were strengthening their positions in the east and using aid shipments to smuggle in arms and other supplies to separatist forces. 15 more Ukrainian servicemen were killed in fighting in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 9/2/14)
2014 Sep 3, A Ukrainian official said the bodies of 87 soldiers had been retrieved from southeastern Ukraine, killed over the weekend near the eastern city of Ilovaysk.
(AP, 9/3/14)
2014 Sep 3, Australia banned uranium sales to Russia over its actions in Ukraine while announcing it will set up an embassy in Kiev and may offer military assistance.
(AFP, 9/3/14)
2014 Sep 3, The EU said it is deploying dozens of experts to Ukraine to help reform police forces and bolster the new West-leaning government's commitment to the rule of law.
(AFP, 9/3/14)
2014 Sep 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin said a deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine could be reached this week. The announcement was timed by the Kremlin to wrong-foot NATO on the eve of a summit that will discuss the crisis and to sow doubt in the European Union over imposing new sanctions against Moscow.
(Reuters, 9/3/14)
2014 Sep 4, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the main pro-Russian rebel leader said they would both order ceasefires on Sep 5, provided that an agreement is signed on a new peace plan to end the five month war in Ukraine's east.
(Reuters, 9/4/14)
2014 Sep 5, In Ukraine fighting raged between government forces and pro-Russian rebels just east of the strategic port of Mariupol despite the start of talks between envoys from Ukraine and Russia in Minsk on a ceasefire and a peace plan. Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels agreed to a ceasefire.
(Reuters, 9/5/14)
2014 Sep 6, In eastern Ukraine shelling resumed near the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov late today, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko had agreed in a phone call that the truce was holding.
(Reuters, 9/7/14)
2014 Sep 7, A senior aide to Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko said an agreement was reached during the NATO summit in Wales on the provision of weapons and military advisers from five member states of the alliance.
(Reuters, 9/7/14)
2014 Sep 7, In eastern Ukraine a woman died and at least four people were wounded when fighting flared again overnight. Fighting broke out early today on the northern outskirts of rebel-held Donetsk. Both the rebels and the Ukrainian military insisted they were strictly observing the ceasefire and blamed their opponents for any violations.
(Reuters, 9/7/14)
2014 Sep 8, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that 1,200 captives held by pro-Russian rebels have been freed over the last 4 days.
(AFP, 9/8/14)
2014 Sep 9, Ukraine said it was drafting a list of food and other products it plans to ban from Russia in retaliation for Moscow's own painful and politically-charged restrictions.
(AFP, 9/9/14)
2014 Sep 10, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that Russia has withdrawn about 70% of the troops it allegedly sent across the border to back a bloody pro-Kremlin uprising.
(AFP, 9/10/14)(SFC, 9/11/14, p.A5)
2014 Sep 13, A Russian convoy of more than 200 white trucks crossed the border to deliver humanitarian aid to Luhansk, a move made without Kiev's consent yet met with silence by Ukraine's top leaders.
(AP, 9/13/14)
2014 Sep 14, Ukraine's defense minister said that NATO countries were delivering weapons to his country to equip it to fight pro-Russian separatists and "stop" Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters, 9/14/14)
2014 Sep 14, In eastern Ukraine two northern neighborhoods in Donetsk were shelled heavily. At least 6 people were killed and 15 others wounded. 73 Ukrainian soldiers were freed in an exchange with the rebels.
(AP, 9/15/14)
2014 Sep 15, In Ukraine US-led military exercises involving 15 countries began, as fighting rumbled on in the restive east between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in violation of a ceasefire.
(AFP, 9/15/14)
2014 Sep 16, Ukraine's parliament ratified an agreement to deepen economic and political ties with the EU, and passed legislation to grant autonomy to the rebellious east as part of a peace deal.
(AP, 9/16/14)
2014 Sep 16, Romania's energy minister said Russia was playing games with gas supplies to cause concerns in EU states, after analysts warned that Moscow could use the flows to retaliate against sanctions imposed over its role in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 9/16/14)
2014 Sep 16, Slovak gas importer SPP reported a 25 percent reduction in gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine, the biggest drop since a decline in deliveries was first reported last week.
(Reuters, 9/16/14)
2014 Sep 17, In eastern Ukraine shelling in the rebel-held city of Donetsk killed 2 people and wounded three others.
(AP, 9/17/14)
2014 Sep 18, Poland said it will create a joint military unit with Lithuania and Ukraine, with its command headquarters in the eastern Polish city of Lublin.
(Reuters, 9/18/14)
2014 Sep 18, The United States pledged $53 million in fresh aid to Ukraine for its struggle against Russia's incursion, including counter-mortar radar equipment, in a gesture of support for visiting Ukraine Pres. Poroshenko.
(Reuters, 9/18/14)
2014 Sep 20, The Ukrainian city of Donetsk was rocked by blasts, even as government forces and pro-Russian separatists prepared to create a buffer zone to separate the warring sides. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and seven others were wounded in overnight violence. A nine-point memorandum was signed earlier in the day in the Belarussian capital of Minsk by the separatists and envoys from Moscow and Kiev.
(Reuters, 9/20/14)
2014 Sep 21, The Ukrainian military accused separatists and Russian troops of continuing to shoot at government forces despite a Sept. 5 ceasefire and said Kiev would not go ahead with setting up a proposed buffer zone until the truce violations stopped.
(Reuters, 9/21/14)
2014 Sep 22, Ukraine's military said it was pulling back artillery and heavy armor from the front line with separatists, backing President Petro Poroshenko's peace plan for a conflict that has cost more than 3,000 lives.
(Reuters, 9/22/14)
2014 Sep 23, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian rebels said they were withdrawing guns and tanks from the frontline under a peace plan forged with Kiev that aims to end five months of conflict.
(AFP, 9/23/14)
2014 Sep 24, Ukrainian peace efforts stalled after pro-Russian insurgents called their own elections in defiance of a deal under which they and the Ukrainian army began withdrawing heavy weapons after 5 months of war.
(AFP, 9/24/14)
2014 Sep 25, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko ordered a temporary closure of its porous border with Russia and voiced plans to apply for EU membership in 2020 as part of his ex-Soviet country's Westward shift.
(AFP, 9/25/14)
2014 Sep 25, Hungary unexpectedly cut off natural gas shipments to Ukraine. Hungary had been sending an estimated 3 million cubic meters of natural gas a day to Ukraine, which has not received any from Russia since June.
(AP, 9/26/14)
2014 Sep 27, A Ukrainian security official said that one serviceman and one civilian have been killed in the past day as rebels in the east continue attacks despite a cease-fire declared three weeks ago.
(AP, 9/27/14)
2014 Sep 29, A shaky truce between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian military was challenged when 9 soldiers and 3 civilians were reported killed in a surge of fighting across the separatist east.
(AFP, 9/29/14)(SFC, 9/29/14, p.A5)
2014 Sep 29, Russia launched a criminal case against "unidentified representatives of Ukraine's senior political and military leadership", National Guard and nationalist organizations, in which it accused them of committing "genocide."
(Reuters, 9/30/14)
2014 Sep 30, Ukrainian state prosecutors said they have opened a criminal investigation against a Russian law enforcement agency, accusing it of supporting separatist and "terrorist" groups in the east of the country.
(Reuters, 9/30/14)
2014 Oct 1, Rebels in eastern Ukraine appeared to be successfully closing in on the government-held airport in Donetsk, a strategic victory for the pro-Russian separatists. At least 10 people were killed when shells hit a school playground and a public transit mini-van in a nearby street in Donetsk. City authorities blamed the shelling on the rebels and the separatists blamed it on government forces.
(AP, 10/1/14)(Reuters, 10/1/14)
2014 Oct 2, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian insurgents launched a fresh assault on the Donetsk Airport held by isolated Ukrainian forces as a month-old truce came under renewed strain and calls grew for the Kremlin to help halt the bloody revolt.
(AFP, 10/2/14)
2014 Oct 3, Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels clashed around the flashpoint city of Donetsk, while trading blame over the death last night of Laurent DuPasqiuer (38), a Swiss aid worker. 12 separatists were killed during the attacks on the Donetsk airport. 2 Ukrainian servicemen were also killed.
(Reuters, 10/3/14)(Reuters, 10/4/14)
2014 Oct 5, In eastern Ukraine artillery blasts rocked Donetsk, exactly one month since the rebels signed a 12-point agreement with Kiev's representatives to try to halt the hostilities. Ukraine says 75 soldiers and civilians have been killed since the official ceasefire on September 5.
(AFP, 10/5/14)
2014 Oct 6, Ukraine officials said 7 civilians and 5 government soldiers have been killed in the past day of clashes with pro-Russian insurgents despite a truce between the two sides.
(AFP, 10/6/14)
2014 Oct 7, The German government said a convoy of 112 trucks carrying aid from Germany has crossed into Ukraine and the goods will be distributed in the country's east by local officials.
(AP, 10/7/14)
2014 Oct 8, The UN said the conflict in eastern Ukraine is still claiming about 10 lives a day among government troops, pro-Russian separatists and civilians despite a ceasefire agreed in early September.
(Reuters, 10/8/14)
2014 Oct 9, Ukraine's president approved legislation to purge government bodies of officials linked to the rule of the country's previous leader, Viktor Yanukovych.
(AP, 10/9/14)
2014 Oct 11, The Ukrainian army said that its positions had been attacked overnight in Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Shelling in the regions killed 5 people over the past 24 hours in the latest deadly violations of a ceasefire.
(AFP, 10/11/14)
2014 Oct 14, In Ukraine 7 civilians died and 17 were injured when shells exploded near a funeral procession in a suburb of the eastern city of Mariupol. 7 soldiers had died over the last 24 hours as forces outside the city were attacked with artillery from the east. Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police in front of the parliament in Kiev as deputies inside repeatedly voted down proposals to recognize a contentious World War II-era Ukrainian partisan group as national heroes.
(AP, 10/14/14)
2014 Oct 15, In Ukraine a "rogue" band of pro-Russian rebels surrounded more than 100 Ukrainian troops in the eastern Lugansk region. The attackers were fighters of the so-called Donskoy army which does not obey the Lugansk People's Republic (LNR).
(AFP, 10/15/14)
2014 Oct 16, In eastern Ukraine 11 soldiers went missing in action after getting caught in an ambush in Smile, Lugansk region, while another 3 were killed in fighting.
(AFP, 10/17/14)
2014 Oct 17, Meeting in Milan, Italy, Russia and Ukraine made progress towards resolving a row over gas supplies, but European leaders said Moscow had to do much more to prop up a fragile ceasefire and end fighting in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 10/17/14)
2014 Oct 18, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said in a television interview that Russia has agreed to supply Ukraine with gas through March 31 at a price of $385 per 1,000 cubic meters.
(AP, 10/19/14)
2014 Oct 18, In eastern Ukraine 2 soldiers were killed in combat with pro-Russian rebels over the last 24 hours. 2 civilians were also killed after a shell hit a residential house in the western district of rebel hub Donetsk.
(AFP, 10/18/14)
2014 Oct 20, A report by Ukraine's parliament revealed that more than 300 soldiers were killed during a weeks-long battle in August that marked a crushing setback in the military campaign to root out pro-Russian separatist forces in the city of Ilovaisk.
(AP, 10/20/14)
2014 Oct 24, US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, NATO's military commander, said Russia still has troops in eastern Ukraine and retains a very capable force on the border despite a partial withdrawal.
(Reuters, 10/24/14)
2014 Oct 26, A divided Ukraine voted in parliamentary elections. The People’s Front party of PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk beat Pres. Poroshenko’s bloc by 22.8% to 21.8%. The election handed Poroshenko a mandate to end a separatist conflict and steer the country further out of Russia's orbit into Europe's mainstream.
(AFP, 10/26/14)(Reuters, 10/27/14)(Econ, 11/1/14, p.50)
2014 Oct 30, In eastern Ukraine 7 government soldiers were reported killed in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire with separatists.
(Reuters, 10/30/14)
2014 Oct 30, Moscow, Kiev and the European Union clinched an agreement to resume supplies of Russian gas to Ukraine over the winter and secure transit of gas via Ukraine to Europe.
(Reuters, 10/31/14)
2014 Oct 31, Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatseniuk said Ukraine would guarantee deliveries of gas through its territory to Europe to make sure Moscow had no room for "blackmailing".
(Reuters, 10/31/14)
2014 Oct 31, Russia’s Gazprom said it may restart gas supply to Ukraine as soon as next week if Kiev pays $2.2 billion worth of debt and pre-payments, under a deal that is also vital to ensure deliveries to Europe.
(Reuters, 10/31/14)
2014 Nov 1, Ukraine said 6 government soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours, as a fragile ceasefire in the east was tested by heavy mortar fire in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 11/1/14)
2014 Nov 2, Separatists in eastern Ukraine held elections condemned by Kiev and Western governments, but backed by Russia, as Ukrainian claims of "intensive" troop movements across the Russian border cast new doubts over a truce. Ukrainian authorities announced the deaths of 3 more soldiers and seven more wounded. Alexander Zakharchenko, the rebel leader in Donetsk, claimed an easy victory. The head of the separatists in Luhansk region, Igor Plotnitsky, won by a similarly large margin.
(AFP, 11/2/14)(AP, 11/3/14)
2014 Nov 5, Ukraine announced that it will freeze budget subsidies for the eastern territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists. 2 civilians, including a teenage boy, were killed when shelling hit a school playing field in rebel-held Donetsk.
(AP, 11/5/14)(AFP, 11/5/14)
2014 Nov 6, Ukraine announced passport controls around areas held by pro-Russian separatists in the latest step toward what resembles the breakup of the ex-Soviet republic, as heavy artillery fire erupted in Donetsk. Several more bodies of victims from the July 17 crash of Malaysia Flight 17 were found near the crash site.
(AFP, 11/6/14)(SFC, 11/8/14, p.A2)
2014 Nov 7, Ukraine’s military said a column of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer artillery systems and trucks carrying ammunition and fighters has crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia. 5 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 16 wounded in the past 24 hours despite the ceasefire.
(Reuters, 11/7/14)
2014 Nov 8, In eastern Ukraine Associated Press reporters saw more than 80 unmarked military vehicles on the move in rebel-controlled areas, indicating that intensified hostilities may lie ahead.
(AP, 11/8/14)
2014 Nov 9, East Ukraine's rebel stronghold Donetsk was pummeled by the heaviest shelling in a month, and the OSCE said it spotted an armored column of troops without insignia in rebel territory that Kiev said proved Moscow had sent reinforcements. 3 Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed in the past 24 hours and a further 13 injured.
(Reuters, 11/9/14)
2014 Nov 10, In eastern Ukraine new unidentified unarmored columns rumbled toward the pro-Moscow rebel stronghold of Donetsk as fears grew of a return to all-out fighting in the war-torn region.
(AFP, 11/10/14)
2014 Nov 11, In eastern Ukraine Heavy shelling resumed around the pro-Russian separatist stronghold of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 11/11/14)
2014 Nov 13, Ukraine's representative to the OSCE security and rights body told an Austrian newspaper it was now hardly possible to speak of a ceasefire, citing 2,400 alleged breaches of the truce by rebels. He said 4 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 11/13/14)
2014 Nov 15, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued several decrees to shut state institutions and banking services in pro-Russian eastern regions. 7 soldiers were reported killed in the past 24 hours, while the press service for the 'Donetsk People's Republic' said six civilians, including two children, were killed in shelling a day earlier.
(Reuters, 11/15/14)
2014 Nov 17, Ukraine security officials said 7 government soldiers and 3 police officers were killed in the east in the past 24 hours, while one civilian was killed and eight wounded over the weekend.
(AFP, 11/17/14)
2014 Nov 19, Russia urged Ukraine's leaders to talk directly to separatists to end the conflict in the east, but Kiev rejected the call and told Moscow to stop "playing games" aimed at legitimizing "terrorists".
(Reuters, 11/19/14)
2014 Nov 21, Serbia said it will revoke its citizenship granted to Ukrainian businessman Sergei Kurchenko, sanctioned by the EU and wanted in his country on embezzlement charges. Kurchenko was seen as close to former pro-Russian Pres. Viktor Yanukovych and left Ukraine in February, around the time Yanukovych fled the country amid violent protests.
(AP, 11/21/14)
2014 Nov 22, In eastern Ukraine 4 servicemen were killed in fighting with pro-Russian separatists, despite a ceasefire in place since September.
(Reuters, 11/24/14)
2014 Nov 24, Ukraine reported that 3 servicemen have been killed in the past 24 hours in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the east despite a ceasefire in place since early September. President Petro Poroshenko said Lithuania is to provide Ukraine with some military aid to help in its fight against pro-Russian separatists.
(Reuters, 11/24/14)
2014 Nov 27, In eastern Ukraine a boy (12) and a woman (55) were killed by shelling in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk.
(AP, 11/27/14)
2014 Nov 27, EU governments agreed to add 13 Ukrainian separatists and five organizations to the bloc's sanctions list.
(Reuters, 11/27/14)
2014 Nov 30, Ukraine said that a convoy of 106 vehicles had entered its eastern territory from Russia without Kiev's permission and accused Moscow of once again using humanitarian aid shipments to send weapons and ammunition to separatist rebels.
(Reuters, 11/30/14)
2014 Dec 1, Ukraine landed a 150 million euro ($187 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to modernize its section of the pipeline used to deliver natural gas from Russia to Europe.
(AP, 12/1/14)
2014 Dec 1, The OSCE said Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed separatist forces in the Luhansk region have agreed on a new cease-fire to start Dec 5.
(AP, 12/2/14)
2014 Dec 2, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance member countries have approved a new interim quick-reaction military force to protect themselves from Russia or other threats. Foreign ministers from the 28 NATO countries and Ukraine condemned a Russian military build-up in Crimea and what they called Russia's "deliberate destabilization" of eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 12/2/14)(4, 12/2/14)
2014 Dec 5, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said "If we give up Donetsk (airport), the enemy will be at Borispil or Gostomel or even in Lviv."
(Reuters, 12/5/14)
2014 Dec 9, Ukrainian government troops and separatists said their forces were complying with an agreed "Day of Silence" in Ukraine's war-torn east, marking an attempt to forge an effective ceasefire which may lead to a new round of peace talks.
(Reuters, 12/9/14)
2014 Dec 9, Russia resumed shipments of natural gas to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 12/9/14)
2014 Dec 11, Ukraine's parliament approved the new government's economic program of tough reforms aimed at securing billions of dollars in financial aid from the International Monetary Fund and other backers. a military spokesman said 3 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and eight wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 12/11/14)
2014 Dec 12, American politicians agreed to supply weapons to Ukrainian troops.
(Econ, 12/20/14, p.111)
2014 Dec 15, UN rights investigators said at least 4,707 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and pro-Russian rebels since the conflict began in mid-April.
(SFC, 12/16/14, p.A2)
2014 Dec 16, Pres. Obama signed legislation imposing further sanctions on Russia and authorizing additional aid to Ukraine.
(SFC, 12/17/14, p.A5)
2014 Dec 18, The EU imposed additional sanctions on Crimea, banning all investment and cruise ships from its ports to force home the message the bloc will not recognize Russia's "illegal annexation" of Ukraine territory.
(AFP, 12/18/14)
2014 Dec 19, The United States imposed sanctions on Russian-controlled Crimea as Ukraine announced the loss of five soldiers ahead of peace talks meant to end a war against Russian-backed insurgents.
(AFP, 12/19/14)
2014 Dec 23, The Ukrainian parliament renounced Ukraine's "non-aligned" status with the aim of eventually joining NATO, angering Moscow which views the Western alliance's eastward expansion as a threat to its own security.
(AP, 12/23/14)
2014 Dec 24, In Belarus peace talk began aimed at reaching a stable cease-fire in Ukraine between its government forces and pro-Russian armed groups. Talks ended after over five hours with no indication of progress.
(AP, 12/24/14)(SFC, 12/25/14, p.A5)
2014 Dec 25, An agreement to swap 125 Ukrainian servicemen for 225 rebels held by Kiev followed peace talks between envoys of Ukraine, Russia, the separatists and European security watchdog OSCE.
(Reuters, 12/26/14)
2014 Dec 26, In Ukraine rebels slightly stepped up their attacks on Ukrainian positions in the east of the country and one Ukrainian servicemen was reported killed in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 12/26/14)
2014 Dec 26, Ukraine suspended train and bus services to the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, citing security concerns. A day later an official said the suspension would be temporary. The government and pro-Russian separatists also swapped 145 Ukrainian servicemen for 222 rebel prisoners of war.
(AP, 12/26/14)(Reuters, 12/27/14)(AFP, 12/27/14)
2014 Dec 27, Russia said it has agreed on a new deal to supply coal and electricity to Ukraine, which is struggling with a lack of raw fuel for power plants due to a separatist conflict in the industrial east.
(Reuters, 12/27/14)
2014 Dec 29, Ukrainian Pres. Petro Poroshenko signed a bill dropping his country's nonaligned status but signaled that he will hold a referendum before seeking NATO membership.
(AP, 12/29/14)
2014 Dec 31, In eastern Ukraine a widespread electricity outage hit Luhansk, the second-largest city in the separatist east. The leader of the rebels who control it claimed that's due to Ukrainian sabotage.
(AP, 12/31/14)
2014 Andrey Kurkov authored “Ukraine Diaries: Dispatches from Kiev." An English translation was made by Sam Taylor.
(Econ, 8/9/14, p.67)
2014 Transparency Int’l. ranked Ukraine 144th out of 177 countries in a global ranking of public perceptions of corruption.
(Econ, 11/15/14, p.75)
2015 Jan 1, Ukrainian separatists carried out sporadic attacks on government forces as the New Year began, wounding three soldiers. Rebel mortar fire reportedly killed one civilian. Alexander Bednov, head of a battalion called "Batman," was killed when separatist security forces tried to arrest him in the Luhansk region.
(Reuters, 1/1/15)(AP, 1/4/15)
2015 Jan 2, Ukraine reported its first military death of 2015 in its conflict with pro-Russian separatists, saying a soldier had been killed and five others wounded in attacks by the rebels.
(Reuters, 1/2/15)
2015 Jan 5, In eastern Ukraine 12 servicemen were killed and 21 injured when their bus collided with two heavy trucks on a snowy road.
(AP, 1/6/15)
2015 Jan 8, The European Union offered to lend Ukraine a further 1.8 billion euros ($2.12 billion) on the condition that Kiev respects the terms of an international bailout and continues its reform program.
(AP, 1/8/15)
2015 Jan 9, Ukrainian officials said 6 soldiers have been killed in two days of fighting as separatists intensified shelling of government positions.
(SFC, 1/10/15, p.A2)
2015 Jan 11, In eastern Ukraine intense fighting erupted around Donetsk wrecking a power station and briefly trapping more than 300 coal miners in one of Europe's largest pits.
(AFP, 1/11/15)
2015 Jan 12, Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France scrapped plans to hold a summit in Kazakhstan later this week because of the failure to implement a four-month-old ceasefire agreement fully and there was no sign of when it might be rescheduled.
(Reuters, 1/13/15)
2015 Jan 12, Interpol said it has put ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on the international wanted list on Ukrainian charges of embezzlement and financial wrong-doing.
(Reuters, 1/12/15)
2015 Jan 13, In eastern Ukraine a long-range Grad rocket hit a passenger bus, killing at least 12 people. Fighting intensified around the international airport in the city of Donetsk as separatists tried to oust government forces.
(Reuters, 1/13/15)(AFP, 1/14/15)
2015 Jan 15, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko agreed that the delayed talks on the Ukraine conflict with leaders of Russia, France and Germany will take place at the end of the month in Astana.
(AFP, 1/15/15)
2015 Jan 16, Ukraine officials said 6 soldiers have been killed in attacks by separatists in the past 24 hours, as fighting raged at the international airport in the big eastern city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 1/16/15)
2015 Jan 17, Ukraine officials said fighting in the east has killed 3 soldiers, as an upsurge in clashes in recent days between the army and pro-Russian rebels centered around control of the battered Donetsk airport.
(AFP, 1/17/15)
2015 Jan 18, Ukrainian troops recaptured almost all the territory of Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine they had lost to separatists in recent weeks. Residents reported a sharp intensification of fighting. Thousands gathered in Kiev for a state-sponsored peace march.
(Reuters, 1/18/15)
2015 Jan 19, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian separatists renewed attacks on Ukrainian forces at the Donetsk airport complex. Ukrainian officials said 3 soldiers have been killed and 66 wounded over the past 24 hours. Ukraine's military claimed that some 700 Russian troops crossed into the country to aid rebels fighting for control of the country's east.
(AP, 1/19/15)(AFP, 1/19/15)
2015 Jan 20, In eastern Ukraine shelling in the Donetsk region killed at least 6 civilians, as fighting intensified between government and rebel forces.
(AP, 1/20/15)
2015 Jan 21, In four-way talks in Berlin involving Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France foreign ministers agreed a "demarcation line" between pro-Russian fighters and Kiev's forces from which withdrawal of heavy weapons could start. There were no details.
(Reuters, 1/22/15)
2015 Jan 21, In Switzerland Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko courted European support World Economic Forum in Davos against what he says are 9,000 Russian troops occupying 7 percent of his nation's territory.
(AP, 1/21/15)
2015 Jan 22, In eastern Ukraine an artillery shell or mortar struck a public transport stop in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, killing at least 13 civilians in an incident both sides blamed on the other. 10 Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed overnight, six at the airport complex.
(Reuters, 1/22/15)(AP, 1/22/15)
2015 Jan 24, In eastern Ukraine at least 30 people were killed by shelling in the port city of Mariupol. A rebel leader said separatists were launching an offensive on the city.
(Reuters, 1/24/15)(AP, 1/24/15)(AP, 1/25/15)
2015 Jan 25, In eastern Ukraine Pro-Russian rebels launched new attacks against government positions. Western countries threatened more sanctions against Moscow for backing a new separatist offensive. President Petro Poroshenko said intercepted radio and telephone conversations prove that Russian-backed separatists were responsible for firing the rockets that pounded Mariupol and killed at least 30 people.
(Reuters, 1/25/15)(AP, 1/25/15)
2015 Jan 27, Ukraine said 9 servicemen have been killed in fighting Russian-backed separatists in the past 24 hours, as rebels fought to encircle Debaltseve, a key town straddling transport routes between their two strongholds.
(Reuters, 1/27/15)
2015 Jan 27, Ukraine's parliament approved a statement defining Russia as an "aggressor state", which deputies said could pave the way for consequences under international law, and called for more international aid and stronger sanctions on Russia. The Russian-backed separatist republics in the east were declared terrorist organizations formally eliminating the possibility of holding peace talks with their representatives.
(Reuters, 1/27/15)(SFC, 1/28/15, p.A6)
2015 Jan 27, EU finance ministers agreed to loan Ukraine 1.8 billion euros ($2.0 billion) to help save it from bankruptcy, leaving open the option of increasing aid at a later stage.
(Reuters, 1/27/15)
2015 Jan 28, Ukraine said 3 soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours in fighting in the east.
(AP, 1/28/15)
2015 Jan 29, In eastern Ukraine 5 government soldiers and 3 civilians were killed as a result of fighting in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 1/29/15)
2015 Jan 29, A Bosnian arms exporter threatened to sue government officials who are blocking a 5 million-euro deal his company has with Ukraine because of objections from Russia, which called on Bosnia not to supply Ukraine with weapons.
(AP, 1/29/15)
2015 Jan 29, The EU extended by six months an existing set of sanctions against Russia and pro-Russian separatist officials because of continued fighting in the Ukraine.
(SFC, 1/30/15, p.A7)
2015 Jan 30, In eastern Ukraine at least 24 people, mostly, civilians were reported killed on both sides in heavy fighting. An attempt to reopen peace talks in neighboring Belarus was aborted before it began. Kiev's military said 5 of its servicemen had been killed in fighting in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 1/30/15)(AFP, 1/30/15)
2015 Jan 31, Ukrainian former president Leonid Kuchma, a Russian diplomat and an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) official met at a state residence in the Belarussian capital Minsk for a new round of peace talks.
(Reuters, 1/31/15)
2015 Jan 31, In eastern Ukraine 12 civilians were killed by separatist artillery shelling of the town, which lies to the north-east of Donetsk. Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said 15 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 30 wounded in clashes across the east.
(Reuters, 1/31/15)
2015 Feb 1, In eastern Ukraine 13 government soldiers and at least as many civilians were killed in the past 24 hours in the separatist conflict after the collapse of peace talks in Belarus.
(Reuters, 2/1/15)
2015 Feb 2, In eastern Ukraine rebels pounded the positions of Ukrainian government troops holding Debaltseve, a strategic rail town, while both sides pressed ahead with mobilizing more forces for combat. Kiev's military said 5 more Ukrainian soldiers were killed in clashes. Municipal authorities in the big rebel-controlled city of Donetsk said 15 civilians were killed at the weekend by shelling.
(Reuters, 2/2/15)
2015 Feb 3, Ukraine said 5 more soldiers have been killed and 27 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the eastern regions in the past 24 hours. Fighting was particularly intense around the town of Debaltseve, a major rail and road junction northeast of the city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 2/3/15)
2015 Feb 4, In eastern Ukraine shelling at a hospital killed at least 5 people ahead of a visit to Kiev by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Rebel and government officials said 8 other civilians were killed in clashes around the region over the past 24 hours.
(AFP, 2/4/15)(AP, 2/4/15)
2015 Feb 4, The US ambassador to NATO said that Russian soldiers were present in eastern Ukraine in a command role and to operate advanced military equipment.
(Reuters, 2/4/15)
2015 Feb 5, Ukraine raised a key interest rate by a whopping 5.5 percentage points following a massive drop in its currency that has stoked concerns of runaway inflation.
(AP, 2/5/15)
2015 Feb 5, The leaders of Germany and France announced a new peace plan for Ukraine, planning to fly together to Kiev and Moscow with a proposal to resolve the conflict.
(Reuters, 2/5/15)
2015 Feb 6, In eastern Ukraine convoys of buses carrying many local residents to safety left the besieged town of Debaltseve as government forces kept up artillery fire to defend their positions against pro-Russian separatists.
(Reuters, 2/6/15)
2015 Feb 6, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine crisis.
(Reuters, 2/6/15)
2015 Feb 7, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko brandished in front of world leaders several passports taken from Russian soldiers in what he said was proof of Moscow's "presence" in his country.
(AFP, 2/7/15)
2015 Feb 7, Germany's Angela Merkel warned that sending arms to help Ukraine fight pro-Russian separatists would not solve the crisis there, drawing a sharp rebuke from a leading US senator who accused Berlin of turning its back on an ally in distress.
(Reuters, 2/7/15)
2015 Feb 7, NATO and Russia failed to narrow their differences over the Ukraine crisis in talks but agreed they would keep talking to each other.
(Reuters, 2/7/15)
2015 Feb 8, In eastern Ukraine intense fighting continued around the rail junction town of Debaltseve, with rebel fighters making repeated attempts to storm lines defended by government troops. The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France agreed to meet in Belarus on Feb 11 to try to broker a peace deal.
(Reuters, 2/8/15)
2015 Feb 9, The Ukraine military said At least 1,500 Russian troops and convoys of military hardware entered Ukraine over the weekend.
(AFP, 2/9/15)
2015 Feb 10, In eastern Ukraine rockets killed 7 civilians in Kramatorsk and rebels pushed on with an assault to cut off an army-held rail junction, setbacks that showed Kiev's position worsening on the eve of peace talks. 7 Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed and 23 wounded in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/10/15)
2015 Feb 11, Ukrainian forces battled pro-Russian rebels for territory on one of the bloodiest days in the 10-month war ahead of a pivotal peace summit on the conflict.
(AFP, 2/11/15)
2015 Feb 12, A Ukrainian military spokesman said around 50 tanks, 40 missile systems and 40 armored vehicles had crossed overnight into eastern Ukraine from Russia.
(Reuters, 2/12/15)
2015 Feb 12, Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine agreed a deal on that offers a "glimmer of hope" for an end to fighting in eastern Ukraine after marathon overnight talks in Belarus. The deal envisages a ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists starting on Feb 15, followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line and constitutional reform to give eastern Ukraine more autonomy.
(Reuters, 2/12/15)
2015 Feb 13, In eastern Ukraine fierce fighting surged as Russian-backed separatists mounted a major, sustained offensive to capture a strategic railway hub ahead of a weekend cease-fire deadline. At least 25 people were killed across the region.
(AP, 2/13/15)
2015 Feb 14, In eastern Ukraine fighting intensified ahead of a midnight ceasefire. Constant artillery bombardments were razing the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve, where Ukrainian forces were clinging on. Shelling killed at least one person in the rebel-held city of Donetsk. 7 Ukrainian service personnel were killed and 23 wounded in fighting in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/14/15)(AFP, 2/14/15)
2015 Feb 15, Ukraine's rebels disavowed a new truce hours after it took effect, saying it did not apply to the town of Debaltseve, where most fighting has taken place in recent weeks.
(Reuters, 2/15/15)
2015 Feb 16, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian rebels said they would open a safe corridor for as many as 7,000 Ukrainian troops out of the encircled town of Debaltseve on condition they surrender the territory, an offer the Kiev military promptly rejected.
(Reuters, 2/16/15)
2015 Feb 16, The European Union published a new sanctions list of individuals and entities. It added 9 more entities and 19 more individuals, including a Russian deputy minister of defense, for their actions linked to the fighting in eastern Ukraine. There was a week's lapse in the publishing of the list because of the negotiations which led to an agreement between Ukraine and Russia on Feb 12.
(AP, 2/16/15)
2015 Feb 16, The leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine said that observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) must have "free access" for their work in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/16/15)
2015 Feb 17, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian rebels and government forces fought street-to-street in Debaltseve and refused to pull back their heavy guns, all but scuppering hopes that a European-brokered peace deal will end months of conflict. Rebels barred OSCE observers from entering Debaltseve.
(Reuters, 2/17/15)
2015 Feb 17, Canada imposed sanctions on Russia over its conduct in Ukraine, a move Moscow said would fuel further tension in Ukraine and prevent the implementation of the ceasefire.
(Reuters, 2/18/15)
2015 Feb 18, Ukraine government forces pulled out of Debaltseve after a fierce assault by Russian-backed separatists which Kiev and Europe said violated a crumbling ceasefire. Kiev reported that 22 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and more than 150 wounded in fighting with Russian-backed separatists in the railway junction of Debaltseve in the last few days.
(Reuters, 2/18/15)
2015 Feb 19, Fighting raged in eastern Ukraine despite European efforts to resurrect a still-born ceasefire, a day after pro-Russian separatists who spurned the truce forced thousands of government troops out Debaltseve. Ukraine said more than 90 troops were captured and 82 were still missing after pro-Russian rebels seized Debaltseve.
(Reuters, 2/19/15)(AFP, 2/19/15)
2015 Feb 19, A German government spokesman said Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed in a conference call with the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine to use his influence on separatists to start an agreed prisoner swap with Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/19/15)
2015 Feb 20, Ukraine accused Russia of sending more tanks and troops into eastern Ukraine and said they were heading towards the rebel-held town of Novoazovsk on the southern coast, expanding their presence on what could be the next key battlefront. Ukrainian military spokesman Anatoly Stelmach listed 49 attacks in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/20/15)
2015 Feb 20, Ukrainian Pres. Petro Poroshenko said that police evidence showed that a top Russian presidential aide, Vladislav Surkov, had directed "foreign sniper groups" who shot and killed protesters in Kiev a year ago.
(Reuters, 2/20/15)
2015 Feb 21, Ukraine government forces and rebels exchanged 139 government and 52 rebel prisoners, one of the first moves to implement the peace deal reached on Feb. 12 in the Belarussian capital Minsk.
(Reuters, 2/22/15)(SSFC, 2/22/15, p.A6)
2015 Feb 22, In eastern Ukraine pro-Moscow rebels said they would start to withdraw heavy weapons from the front line. The Kiev government said armored columns had crossed the border from Russia to reinforce the separatists. In Kharkiv 2 people were killed and 10 wounded when an explosive device was thrown from a car into a crowd attending a peace rally.
(Reuters, 2/22/15)(Reuters, 2/23/15)
2015 Feb 23, Ukraine's military said it could not start withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line in the east as required under a tenuous ceasefire because pro-Russian separatists who advanced last week were still attacking its positions. Ukraine's military said two of its soldiers had been killed and 10 wounded in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/23/15)
2015 Feb 24, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russia separatists said they had begun pulling heavy weapons from the front line under a ceasefire deal, but Ukraine said the rebels were using the cover of the truce to reinforce for another advance.
(Reuters, 2/24/15)
2015 Feb 24, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko said his country has signed an agreement to cooperate with the United Arab Emirates on military and technical issues as he kicked off a visit to the Western-allied Gulf nation.
(AP, 2/24/15)
2015 Feb 25, In eastern Ukraine a long-awaited truce took hold at last with the army reporting no combat fatalities for the first time in weeks, but the news did nothing to halt a currency collapse that forced the central bank to ban most trading.
(Reuters, 2/25/15)
2015 Feb 26, Ukrainian troops towed artillery away from the front line in the east, a move that amounted to recognizing that a ceasefire meant to take effect on Feb. 15 was holding at last.
(Reuters, 2/26/15)
2015 Feb 27, Ukraine continued to withdraw its weapons and announced the deaths of 3 servicemen in the past 24 hours, following two full days without fatalities.
(Reuters, 2/27/15)
2015 Feb 27, Spain arrested eight citizens who recently returned from fighting alongside pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine, the first such arrest in the European Union of foreign citizens involved in the conflict.
(Reuters, 2/27/15)
2015 Feb 28, Ukrainian photographer Serhiy Nikolayev died after artillery fire struck near the village of Pesky, northwest of the rebel-held city of Donetsk. Pres. Poroshenko informed US Vice President Joe Biden in a call of continued shelling around Donetsk and Mariupol by Russian-backed separatists.
(Reuters, 2/28/15)
2015 Feb 28, In Ukraine former deputy Mykhaylo Chechetov, a prominent lawmaker in Yanukovych's time, was found dead near his house in Kiev.
(AFP, 3/14/15)
2015 Mar 2, Ukraine's military said one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and four wounded in separatist eastern territories in the past 24 hours. But it warned that rebels were using the truce to regroup for new attacks on government positions.
(Reuters, 3/2/15)
2015 Mar 3, Ukraine's central bank sharply hiked its benchmark rate to 30 percent, from 19.5 percent, effective March 4 as financial authorities seek to reverse the rapid devaluation of the national currency.
(AP, 3/3/15)
2015 Mar 4, In eastern Ukraine 33 miners were killed after an early morning explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in Donetsk.
(Reuters, 3/4/15)(SFC, 3/5/15, p.A4)(AFP, 3/6/15)
2015 Mar 5, Ukraine said one government serviceman was killed and another wounded in fighting over the last 24 hours with pro-Russian separatists in the east. A military spokesman said rebels had attacked Ukrainian troops' positions or civilian targets 40 times within the previous 24 hours, including 17 artillery attacks. For their part, the rebels accuse Ukrainian forces almost daily of shelling and firing.
(Reuters, 3/5/15)
2015 Mar 5, American forces arrived in Ukraine to train government soldiers on use of overseas military equipment. As many as 300 US soldiers were expected to serve a seven-month training mission.
(SFC, 3/6/15, p.A3)
2015 Mar 8, Ukraine said one serviceman was killed by sniper fire and three wounded as a result of fighting in separatist eastern territories in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 3/8/15)
2015 Mar 10, In Ukraine former lawmaker Stanislav Melnyk, a member of deposed Pres. Yanukovych's Party of Regions, was found by his wife dead in his bathroom. He left a suicide note asking for forgiveness.
(AFP, 3/14/15)
2015 Mar 11, Sweden said it has offered Ukraine a bilateral loan of $100 million to help shore up its finances.
(Reuters, 3/11/15)
2015 Mar 11, The US placed sanctions on eight Ukrainian separatists and a Russian bank, warning that recent attacks by rebels armed by Russia violated a European-brokered ceasefire in the war-torn country.
(Reuters, 3/11/15)
2015 Mar 12, In Ukraine Oleksandr Peklushenko, a former ally of deposed Pres. Yanukovych targeted in a probe into the violent dispersal of the pro-Western rally in the city of Zaporizhia where he was governor last year, was found dead from a gunshot to the neck. Three recent deaths followed four suicides earlier this year of regional officials who were working under the old regime.
(AFP, 3/14/15)
2015 Mar 12, The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said it is to roughly double the size of its observer mission in eastern Ukraine to up to 1,000 personnel.
(AFP, 3/12/15)
2015 Mar 16, One Ukrainian serviceman was reported killed in fighting in the separatist-minded east of the country in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire deal. Residents in the eastern town of Kostyantynivka angrily confronted government police after an armored military vehicle struck and killed an 8-year-old girl.
(Reuters, 3/16/15)(AP, 3/17/15)
2015 Mar 17, Ukraine said 3 government servicemen were killed in fighting in the east in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire agreement with Russian-backed rebels.
(Reuters, 3/17/15)
2015 Mar 18, In eastern Ukraine a civilian was killed and one injured after tripping a bomb in Vuglegirsk, a separatist-controlled town 35 km (21 miles) north-east of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
(AFP, 3/21/15)
2015 Mar 19, Officials said around 30 British military personnel have arrived in Ukraine to provide medical and tactical training to the country's troops.
(AP, 3/19/15)
2015 Mar 20, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Turkey has offered a $50 million loan to Ukraine to help cover its budget deficit in a joint press conference in Kiev with Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey also offered Ukraine $10 million in humanitarian assistance.
(Reuters, 3/20/15)
2015 Mar 20, In eastern Ukraine one civilian was killed in an attack by pro-Russian separatist rebels in the government-controlled town of Avdiyivka despite a ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 3/20/15)
2015 Mar 21, In eastern Ukraine 2 government servicemen were reported killed in attacks by Russian-backed separatist rebels in the last 24 hours despite an agreed ceasefire.
(Reuters, 3/21/15)
2015 Mar 25, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko forced Igor Kolomoisky to step down as head of the key industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk, after a dispute over control of the main state oil and gas company ended up with armed men storming two office blocks in Kiev.
(AFP, 3/25/15)(Econ., 3/28/15, p.55)
2015 Mar 25, Ukraine arrested two top officials on graft charges at a televised cabinet meeting hours after the president sacked a powerful oligarch as regional governor. Police detained Sergiy Bochkovsky, director of Ukraine's state emergencies service, and his deputy Vasyl Stoyetsky, accusing them of "high-level" corruption.
(AFP, 3/26/15)
2015 Mar 27, Separatists in eastern Ukraine handed over the bodies of 22 government soldiers killed during the fierce, months-long battle over the airport near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
(AP, 3/27/15)
2015 Apr 1, Ukraine rejected Georgia's request for the extradition of its former president, Mikhail Saakashvili, who is facing a criminal probe at home.
(AP, 4/1/15)
2015 Apr 4, Ukraine reported that 3 government serviceman have been killed and two wounded in a landmine explosion in separatist eastern territories.
(Reuters, 4/4/15)
2015 Apr 5, In eastern Ukraine 6 soldiers were killed in two separate incidents as isolated clashes continue to violate a fragile ceasefire to end the year-long war.
(AFP, 4/5/15)
2015 Apr 6, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko publicly lifted his objections to a referendum that could give more powers to the restive regions engulfed in more than a year of warfare, reversing his government's previous position. Russia-backed separatists, however, dismissed Poroshenko's gesture as meaningless.
(AP, 4/6/15)
2015 Apr 9, The Ukraine parliament voted to ban all propaganda by the totalitarian Communist and Nazi regimes. 254 members of the 450-member parliament voted in favor of the legislation.
(AFP, 4/9/15)
2015 Apr 9, Amnesty International said that it has evidence that Russian-backed separatists in east Ukraine have killed several captured government soldiers in gross violation of international humanitarian law.
(AP, 4/9/15)
2015 Apr 10, Ukraine's military and pro-Russian rebels accused each other of intensifying attacks in separatist eastern territories despite a two-month-old ceasefire.
(Reuters, 4/10/15)
2015 Apr 10, In Ukraine masked men smashed communist-era monuments in Kharkiv overnight after the country's pro-Western parliament voted to purge the nation of Soviet symbols and its head of state compared today's Russia to Nazi Germany.
(AFP, 4/11/15)
2015 Apr 13, In eastern Ukraine 6 government servicemen were killed and 12 wounded despite a ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 4/14/15)
2015 Apr 14, In eastern Ukraine the Donetsk regional administration, which remains in government hands, said it had tracked 30-40 vehicles carrying "Russian military equipment" heading in the direction of Popasna, a town on the front line west of rebel-held Luhansk. A further 20 armored personnel carriers and 10 tanks arrived in Debaltseve. Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), said Ukraine had brought heavy weapons close to the city.
(Reuters, 4/14/15)
2015 Apr 14, Canada said it will send 200 military trainers to Ukraine. The training is to include explosive ordnance disposal, military police tactics, field medicine, flight safety and logistics.
(AFP, 4/14/15)
2015 Apr 15, Ukraine said one government soldier was killed and two wounded in separatist eastern territories in the past 24 hours. Separatist officials said one rebel fighter had been killed and five wounded as a result of attacks from the Ukrainian side in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 4/15/15)
2015 Apr 15, In Ukraine Oleh Kalashnikov, a lawmaker from ex-President Viktor Yanukovych's party, was found dead on the landing of his home in Kiev with a gunshot wound. Kalashnikov was a key witness in a criminal case related to pro-Russian activists who in early 2014 attacked the pro-Western protests on Kiev's main square.
(AP, 4/16/15)
2015 Apr 16, In Ukraine activist Oles Buzyna (45), known for his pro-Russian views, was gunned down in broad daylight in Kiev. Buzyna was a key witness in a criminal case related to pro-Russian activists who in early 2014 attacked the pro-Western protests on Kiev's main square.
(AP, 4/16/15)
2015 Apr 18, Ukraine's army chief of staff listed for the first time some of the specific Russian military units alleged to be fighting against Kiev alongside pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine. He named the Russian army's 15th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the 8th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the 331st Airborne Regiment and the 98th Airborne Division.
(AFP, 4/18/15)
2015 Apr 20, In Ukraine US paratroopers began training local government forces who will fight pro-Russian separatists in the east, angering Moscow as the deadly conflict rumbles on in the ex-Soviet country.
(AFP, 4/20/15)
2015 Apr 21, One Ukrainian serviceman was reported killed and one wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 4/21/15)
2015 Apr 22, Ukraine said it is ditching the Soviet name for World War Two and aims to adopt the poppy, a mainly British wartime symbol, to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. Kiev said it will also align its calendar with that of its European allies by adding for the first time May 8 - known in the West as Victory in Europe Day - as a national holiday.
(Reuters, 4/22/15)
2015 Apr 23, In Ukraine hundreds of coal workers marched through Kiev in a call for authorities to stop buying fuel from abroad and to guarantee a moratorium on mine closures.
(AP, 4/23/15)
2015 Apr 23, The United States accused Russia of building up its forces along the border with Ukraine, boosting air defense systems in the country and training Ukrainian rebels in the east.
(AFP, 4/23/15)
2015 Apr 24, Russia charged Ukrainian air force officer Nadia Savchenko (33) over the deaths of two Russian journalists in a politically charged case that has become emblematic of tensions between Kiev and Moscow.
(AFP, 4/24/15)
2015 Apr 25, In Ukraine government serviceman was killed and two were wounded in shelling attacks by pro-Russian separatists near the port of Mariupol.
(Reuters, 4/25/15)
2015 May 1, Ukraine said 2 government soldiers and one pro-Russian rebel have been killed over the past 24 hours in fighting in the country's war-torn east despite a shaky ceasefire.
(AFP, 5/1/15)
2015 May 3, Ukraine said one government soldier and a civilian were killed in the past 24 hours in in the separatist-held east amid a marked increase in fighting despite a fragile ceasefire.
(AFP, 5/3/15)
2015 May 4, Ukraine's army said two soldiers have died in renewed bouts of fighting in the east, where skirmishes between government and separatist forces are increasing and intensifying despite a February peace deal.
(AP, 5/4/15)
2015 May 4, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski approved a resolution that gave his formal consent to the establishment of a joint Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian military unit. The joint brigade will serve separately from the three countries’ military commands, but will participate in NATO, United Nations and European Union operations.
(Reuters, 5/4/15)
2015 May 6, Ukraine said that 5 government soldiers were killed over the last 24 hours as fresh clashes rumbled on despite the resumption of talks between the government and rebels over a battered truce deal.
(AFP, 5/6/15)
2015 May 12, Ukraine said 3 government servicemen were killed and one was wounded in separatist eastern territories over the past 24 hours despite a three-month-old ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 5/12/15)
2015 May 12, Russian opposition activists said least 220 Russian soldiers have been killed in east Ukraine in a report offering what they called "ample evidence" to rebut President Vladimir Putin's denial his troops are fighting there. The report, the last project of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, also said Russia had spent more than 53 billion rubles ($1.04 billion) in 10 months to fund the conflict and deprived people of 2.75 trillion rubles of money lost to inflation.
(Reuters, 5/12/15)
2015 May 16, Ukraine said a government soldier was killed and three were wounded in fighting between government forces and separatists in eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists in turn reported violations of the ceasefire by Ukrainian forces.
(AFP, 5/16/15)
2015 May 16, Ukraine's military detained two Russian servicemen. On May 18 Ukraine Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that Russia had tried to kill the two servicemen as the Kremlin reiterated that there were no regular Russian troops fighting in east Ukraine.
(Reuters, 5/18/15)
2015 May 19, Ukraine showed off two purported Russian soldiers it captured during a gun battle with separatist fighters in the industrial east of the war-wrecked state. Ukraine's media said Captain Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Sargent Aleksander Aleksandrov were both contract soldiers who had joined the army's main intelligence branch.
(AFP, 5/19/15)
2015 May 21, Ukraine lawmakers annulled five crucial security agreements with Moscow that allowed Russia to transport troops to a separatist region of Moldova and purchase weapons only produced in Ukraine. The deals were effectively suspended with the onset of the pro-Russian uprising in Ukraine's industrial east 13 months ago that Kiev blames the Kremlin for fomenting.
(AFP, 5/21/15)
2015 May 21, Ukraine said one government serviceman has been killed and eight wounded in fresh separatist attacks.
(AP, 5/21/15)
2015 May 22, Amnesty International accused Ukrainian forces of torture and pro-Russian rebels of even more serious war crimes such as summary executions committed both before and after a February truce deal.
(AFP, 5/22/15)
2015 May 23, In eastern Ukraine separatist commander Alexey Mozgovoy was killed along with 6 other fighters after their car came under attack near the town of Alchevsk.
(AFP, 5/23/15)
2015 May 26, In eastern Ukraine 4 pro-Russian rebels, a Ukrainian soldier and one civilian were killed in clashes that broke out over the past 24 hours in violation of a February truce deal.
(AFP, 5/26/15)
2015 May 28, President Vladimir Putin declared all deaths of Russian soldiers during special operations to be classified as a state secret, a move that comes as Moscow stands accused of sending soldiers to fight in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 5/28/15)
2015 May 29, Ukraine said one government serviceman has been killed and six others wounded in attacks by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 5/29/15)
2015 May 30, Ukraine Pres. President Petro Poroshenko appointed former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili as governor of the troubled Odessa region.
(AP, 5/30/15)
2015 May 31, Georgia threatened to revoke pro-Western former president Mikheil Saakashvili's citizenship after he was granted a Ukrainian passport and appointed as governor of the strategic Odessa region.
(AFP, 6/1/15)
2015 Jun 1, Ukraine said at least 2 civilians and 3 Ukrainian troops have been killed in eastern Ukraine despite the ongoing cease-fire over the last 24 hours. The UN said that more than 6,400 people had been killed from the beginning of the conflict in mid-April 2014 to May 30, 2015.
(AP, 6/1/15)(AFP, 6/1/15)
2015 Jun 2, The Dutch Safety Board made a draft report on last year's crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 available to representatives of Malaysia, Ukraine, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands. It did not publicize details of the confidential draft.
(AP, 7/1/15)
2015 Jun 3, Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists fought their first serious battles in months. Ukraine's defense minister said an attempt by rebels to take the eastern town of Maryinka had been thwarted. 15 fighters and civilians were reported killed as a result of shelling on rebel territory.
(Reuters, 6/3/15)
2015 Jun 4, NATO said Russia was delivering sophisticated weaponry to rebels in eastern Ukraine, renewing long-standing accusations amid the worst upsurge in fighting in months between the Kiev government's forces and pro-Russian rebels.
(Reuters, 6/4/15)
2015 Jun 6, In Ukraine opponents of a gay rights march held in Kiev threw smoke bombs and tear gas. Police said five officers were injured as well as four of the estimated 300 marchers.
(AP, 6/6/15)
2015 Jun 6, The EU extended sanctions imposed on three people Ukraine suspects of having embezzled funds under former President Viktor Yanukovich. Asset freezes on ex-justice minister Olena Lukash, former education and science minister Dmytro Tabachnyk and Serhiy Klyuyev, the businessman brother of Yanukovich's former chief of staff, were to have expired today.
(Reuters, 6/6/15)
2015 Jun 7, In Ukraine a search and rescue operation began after a border patrol boat with a crew of seven sank off the port city of Mariupol following an explosion. One crew member was killed and five wounded. The government blamed a separatist-made bomb.
(Reuters, 6/7/15)(AP, 6/8/15)
2015 Jun 9, Ukraine said 8 government servicemen have been killed - seven of them in a single land mine blast - in the past 24 hours in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 6/9/15)
2015 Jun 9, Ukraine urgently evacuated hundreds of residents from the site of a series of fuel depot blasts near Kiev that set off a ferocious fire and left several people missing and at least one confirmed dead.
(AFP, 6/9/15)
2015 Jun 10, In Ukraine 3 civilians were killed in a mortar attack near Gorlivka, which is in separatist-held territory north of the regional city of Donetsk. 2 government soldiers were killed and 13 others wounded by separatists using heavy weapons in violation of a ceasefire agreed in February.
(Reuters, 6/11/15)
2015 Jun 12, Two of Ukraine's largest steel plants were in a critical situation and may have to cut production, after fighting in the separatist east severed gas supplies to the port city of Mariupol and two other towns.
(Reuters, 6/12/15)
2015 Jun 13, In eastern Ukraine 6 government servicemen were killed and 14 wounded in the past 24 hours, despite a four-month-old ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 6/13/15)
2015 Jun 14, Ukraine said one serviceman was killed and 21 were wounded in separatist attacks in the past 24 hours. Both sides accused the other of intensifying attacks despite a four-month-old ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 6/14/15)
2015 Jun 15, In eastern Ukraine woman (77) and her daughter (45) died of gunshot wounds to the head after the soldiers entered their house in the government-held town of Luhanske and fired machine guns. Two Ukrainian soldiers, aged 23 and 25, were soon detained and confessed to the murder.
(Reuters, 6/17/15)
2015 Jun 16, Ukraine reported the death of two soldiers in advance of European-mediated talks with pro-Russian insurgents aimed at breaking a deadlock over the future status of eastern separatist enclaves.
(AFP, 6/16/15)
2015 Jun 22, The Ukrainian military said 2 government servicemen have been killed and three wounded in fresh separatist attacks in the east.
(Reuters, 6/22/15)
2015 Jul 1, The Russian gas company Gazprom halted supplies to neighboring Ukraine after the collapse of pricing talks. An EU official said the dispute would not affect the flow of Russian gas to Europe.
(AP, 7/1/15)
2015 Jul 10, In eastern Ukraine an unidentified gunman shot and killed 3 postal workers as they were transporting money, escaping with the equivalent of $115,000 in the government-held city of Kharkiv.
(AP, 7/10/15)
2015 Jul 11, In western Ukraine at least 2 people were killed in a gun and grenade attack in Mukhachevo involving the country's notorious nationalist militia Right Sector.
(AP, 7/11/15)
2015 Jul 14, In eastern Ukraine two rebel fighters were killed as well as one civilian.
(AP, 7/15/15)
2015 Jul 15, Ukraine said 8 government troops were killed and 16 wounded in the war-torn east over the last 24-hours.
(AP, 7/15/15)
2015 Jul 16, Ukraine's parliament gave preliminary approval to a bill that would devolve more powers to separatist-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine and sent it for review at the country's highest court.
(AP, 7/16/15)
2015 Jul 17, The Ukrainian parliament voted to call local elections across the country in October, but not in the rebel-occupied east.
(AP, 7/17/15)
2015 Jul 17, In Ukraine Maria Gaidar was appointed as deputy governor of Odessa, now led by former Georgian Pres. Mikhail Saakashvili. Gaidar (32), the only daughter of Russia’s 1992 reformist prime minister Yegor Gaidar, served as deputy governor in Russia's Kirov region in 2009-2011 and advised Moscow's deputy mayor in 2012-2013.
(AP, 7/20/15)
2015 Jul 18, Ukraine said 3 civilians have been killed by shelling by pro-Russian rebels in the separatist eastern regions. One government serviceman was also reported killed and four others wounded. Rebels said attacks in Donetsk had killed one civilian, destroyed buildings and started several fires.
(Reuters, 7/18/15)(Reuters, 7/19/15)
2015 Jul 19, The Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists accused each other of shelling residential districts of separatist-held Donetsk overnight, the first attack on central parts of the city since a February ceasefire agreement. The Ukrainian military said one serviceman had been killed and seven wounded in separatist attacks in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 7/19/15)
2015 Jul 23, In Poland a bus traveling from Ukraine to Warsaw crashed, killing 5 people and injuring more than two dozen others.
(AP, 7/23/15)
2015 Jul 25, Ukraine's border guards detained two people including a Russian officer who was driving a truck packed with weapons including rocket-propelled grenades at a checkpoint about 30 km (19 miles) south of Donetsk.
(AP, 7/26/15)
2015 Jul 29, Ukrainian Pres. Petro Poroshenko vowed to push for justice despite Russia's veto of a UN resolution that would have set up a tribunal to try those responsible for shooting down passenger flight MH17 on July 17, 2014.
(AFP, 7/29/15)
2015 Jul 30, Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists accused each other on of shelling civilian areas near the rebel-held city of Donetsk despite a ceasefire, with 4 civilians and one soldier killed.
(Reuters, 7/30/15)
2015 Jul 30, The United States imposed further Russia and Ukraine-related sanctions, adding associates of a billionaire Russian gas trader, Crimean port operators and former Ukrainian officials to its list of those it is penalizing in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 7/30/15)
2015 Jul, Brazil’s Pres. Dilma Rousseff scrapped an 11-year agreement with Ukraine to launch satellites aboard Ukrainian Cyclone-4 rockets from its Alcantara spaceport in Maranhao province.
(Econ, 8/8/15, p.29)
2015 Aug 3, Ukraine’s military said 4 servicemen have been killed and 15 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the past 24 hours just before talks on a ceasefire were due to start.
(Reuters, 8/3/15)
2015 Aug 4, Russia's PM Dmitry Medvedev ordered preparation of retaliatory measures against several non-EU European nations that have joined the European Union's sanctions against Russia. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine joined the EU sanctions last week.
(AP, 8/4/15)
2015 Aug 10, Ukraine’s military said 400 rebel fighters supported by tanks had attacked government forces around the village of Starohnativka, 50 km (30 miles) north of the Kiev-held port city of Mariupol. One servicemen was reported killed, one missing in action and 16 wounded in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 8/10/15)
2015 Aug 11, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said his nation is doubling the number of Ukrainian troops it will train this year to 2,000 in an effort to support Kiev in its fight against Russia-backed separatists.
(AP, 8/11/15)
2015 Aug 11, US federal prosecutors said group of Ukrainian hackers worked with securities traders in the US to make $30 million by breaking into the computers of companies that put out corporate press releases and trading on the information before it was made public.
(AP, 8/11/15)
2015 Aug 15, Authorities in Ukrainian-controlled territory along the frontline said that shelling over the past day had killed 2 civilians and wounded 15 more.
(AFP, 8/15/15)
2015 Aug 15, In Ukraine masked men fired tear gas into a venue in Odessa where gay rights activists were to hold a forum after deciding against marching in defiance of a ban.
(AFP, 8/15/15)
2015 Aug 17, In eastern Ukraine Fighting flared between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels near the port of Mariupol and at rebel-held Horlivka overnight, killing at least 10 people including 2 Ukrainian soldiers over the last 24 hours.
(Reuters, 8/17/15)(AFP, 8/17/15)
2015 Aug 20, The Ukrainian military said 4 servicemen have been killed and 14 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 8/20/15)
2015 Aug 27, The Ukrainian government said it has reached a deal with its international bondholders to lighten its public debt burden, a crucial move that will help the country avoid default as it tries to cope with the devastating costs of war.
(AP, 8/27/15)
2015 Aug 27, Ukraine said 7 servicemen have been killed and 13 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 8/27/15)
2015 Aug 29, The leaders of France, Germany and Russia backed a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine in a three-way phone call.
(Reuters, 8/29/15)
2015 Aug 31, In Ukraine a national guardsman was killed and nearly 90 others protecting the parliament were wounded by grenades hurled by protesters as deputies backed reforms to give more autonomy to rebel-held areas. By the next day 2 more guardsman died from wounds sustained in the violent protests.
(Reuters, 8/31/15)(Reuters, 9/1/15)
2015 Sep 1, In Ukraine a fragile truce between government forces and pro-Russian separatists appeared to be holding as both sides made a renewed effort to silence their guns and make the much-abused ceasefire work.
(Reuters, 9/1/15)
2015 Sep 2, In eastern Ukraine 2 civilians were killed undermining fresh efforts to end simmering violence as the EU agreed to extend sanctions against individuals deemed responsible for the conflict.
(AFP, 9/2/15)
2015 Sep 2, The World Health Organization (WHO) said officials have found two children stricken by a mutated polio virus in Ukraine, the country's first cases of the paralytic disease in nine years. Health officials had warned Ukraine was at high risk of a polio outbreak due to its low vaccination rates.
(AP, 9/2/15)
2015 Sep 10, The prime ministers of Slovakia and Ukraine condemned a recent deal to expand a pipeline that delivers natural gas directly from Russia to Germany. An agreement signed earlier this month between Russian giant Gazprom and energy companies from Western EU countries, including E.ON, OMV, Royal Dutch Shell and others, is meant to expand the current Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea that directly links Germany with Siberia's natural gas reserves.
(AP, 9/10/15)
2015 Sep 16, Ukraine’s Pres. Petro Poroshenko signed a decree late today enacting targeted measures against some 400 officials and 90 companies held responsible for Ukraine's bloody pro-Russian uprising and Moscow's annexation of Crimea last year. Dozens of foreign reporters were blacklisted.
(AFP, 9/17/15)
2015 Sep 16, Ukraine's parliament unanimously voted in favor of a recommendation for the United Nations to revoke Moscow's right to block Security Council resolutions in cases when "conflicts grow especially fierce".
(AFP, 9/17/15)
2015 Sep 23, In eastern Ukraine rebel leaders in Luhansk decided to expel the staff of the UN refugee agency along with other int’l. agencies.
(SFC, 9/26/15, p.A2)
2015 Sep 23, It was reported that Russia is planning a second major military base near the border with Ukraine, where NATO accuses Russian troops of helping pro-Moscow separatists fight Kiev's forces.
(Reuters, 9/23/15)
2015 Sep 25, Ukraine said it is banning flights by Russian airlines from Oct. 25 as part of a wave of sanctions against Russia over its support for separatists in the east of the country. PM Arseny Yatseniuk added that any Russian planes carrying military hardware or troops had also been banned from flying over Ukrainian territory. The government statement also forbade Ukrainian state companies from using Russian software, particularly from the Russian anti-virus giant Kaspersky Lab. Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said that Russia would be forced to take retaliatory measures.
(Reuters, 9/25/15)
2015 Sep 25, The UN refugee agency criticized Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine for shutting the door on international aid, while the rebels themselves said the ban was instituted to restore order.
(AP, 9/25/15)
2015 Oct 2, The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine met in Paris to consolidate a fragile peace in Ukraine. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said monitors have spotted a Russian mobile TOS-1 'Buratino' weapons system in rebel-held Ukraine this week.
(AFP, 10/2/15)(Reuters, 10/2/15)
2015 Oct 3, In Ukraine warring sides began withdrawing tanks and smaller weapons from a buffer zone in the war-torn east.
(AFP, 10/3/15)
2015 Oct 12, Russia’s Gazprom resumed gas supplies to Ukraine after receiving prepayment of $234 million from Kiev, assuaging European fears about a new energy crisis ahead of the winter heating season.
(AFP, 10/12/15)
2015 Oct 13, A Ukrainian soldier was killed and two were injured in eastern Ukraine in violation of a month-long ceasefire between government and rebel forces.
(AP, 10/14/15)
2015 Oct 13, The Dutch Safety Board concluded that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian-made Buk missile in its final report on the crash on July 17, 2014, that killed all 298 people on board, most of them Dutch.
(Reuters, 10/13/15)
2015 Oct 15, Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay were elected to the UN Security Council during an uncontested vote for the non-permanent seats.
(AFP, 10/15/15)
2015 Oct 17, The Ukrainian excursion boat Ivolga capsized in the Black Sea, killing 14 people. It was carrying twice as many passengers as allowed and was knocked over by a big wave.
(AP, 10/18/15)
2015 Oct 19, Gunmen kidnapped two Lithuanian and two Ukrainian sailors off southern Nigeria. The ship, flagged in the Comoro Islands, was attacked near Port Harcourt.
(http://tinyurl.com/oo7rmo9)
2015 Oct 23, In Ukraine pro-Russian insurgents in eastern separatist Donetsk region said they have banned Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and UN agencies.
(AFP, 10/24/15)
2015 Oct 25, Ukrainians voted in local elections that were seen as a test of the strength of President Petro Poroshenko's government and of the oligarchs accustomed to running regions of the country. The Mariupol vote was pushed back to next month "due to the improper preparation of election ballots.
(AP, 10/2515)(AFP, 10/2515)
2015 Oct 25, Direct flights between Russia and Ukraine stopped as a result of continuing tensions over Russia's annexation of Crimea and backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 10/2515)
2015 Oct 26, Ukraine's pro-Russian insurgents said they had expelled two ceasefire monitors from the separatist Lugansk region last week. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) denied the report. One soldier was killed when government positions came under fire from the direction of the Donetsk airport.
(AFP, 10/2615)(AP, 10/27/15)
2015 Oct 29, Ukrainian armed forces and pro-Russian insurgents exchanged 20 prisoners in a goodwill gesture designed to get peace talks aimed at ending the 18-month crisis back on track.
(AFP, 10/29/15)
2015 Oct 29, In Ukraine a series of blasts ripped through the military complex in government-controlled Svatove, a town around 100 km (62 miles) from the front line with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Luhansk region. 2 civilians were killed and the incident was being investigated as a "terrorist act."
(Reuters, 10/30/15)
2015 Nov 11, Ukraine said a soldier has been killed and five others wounded in separatist attacks in eastern Ukraine and that a rise in violence is threatening the region's delicate truce.
(AP, 11/11/15)
2015 Nov 12, Ukraine's parliament finally banned discrimination against gays in the workplace during a heated session on legislation that could open the door to visa-free travel to much of the EU in 2016.
(AFP, 11/12/15)
2015 Nov 13, A Ukrainian helicopter crashed in eastern Slovakia, killing 6 people.
(AP, 11/13/15)
2015 Nov 18, The Russian government said it has decided to introduce a ban on food imports from Ukraine starting from January 1 because Kiev joined Western sanctions over Moscow.
(Reuters, 11/18/15)
2015 Nov 21, An explosion in Ukraine's Kherson region bordering Crimea cut the two working power lines to the peninsula.
(AFP, 11/22/15)
2015 Nov 22, Crimea declared a state of emergency after its main electricity lines from Ukraine were blown up, leaving the Russian-annexed peninsula in darkness after the second such attack in as many days.
(AFP, 11/22/15)
2015 Nov 23, Ukraine ordered a halt to all delivery of goods to Crimea. PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk described the halt as temporary, but added that he had ordered the Cabinet to prepare a draft of a "concrete" halt of goods and services from Ukraine to Crimea.
(AP, 11/23/15)
2015 Nov 23, Pro-Ukrainian activists prevented repairs to sabotaged power lines leading to Crimea, keeping the Russian-annexed peninsula starved of electricity for a second day and tensions between Moscow and Kiev high.
(Reuters, 11/23/15)
2015 Nov 24, Power cuts in Crimea affected nearly 940,000 people as tensions raged between Kiev and Moscow over the annexed peninsula and Russia threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine.
(AFP, 11/24/15)
2015 Nov 25, Russia's natural gas giant Gazprom said it would stop shipping fuel supplies to Ukraine because Kiev had failed to make the required pre-payments on time.
(AFP, 11/25/15)
2015 Nov 25, Ukraine decided to stop buying gas from Russia and closed its airspace to its giant eastern neighbor's airlines. The Ukrainian military said another soldier was killed in a new bout of clashes across the shattered war zone in the past 24 hours.
(AFP, 11/25/15)
2015 Nov 27, Ukraine said Russia has begun to restrict coal supplies, days after the Kremlin threatened to punish Kiev for a power blackout of Russian-annexed Crimea. Ukraine depends on coal to fulfil around 44 percent of its power needs.
(Reuters, 11/27/15)
2015 Dec 7, US Vice President Joe Biden assured Ukraine of continuing US support and announced the release of an additional $190 million in US aid to help support reforms.
(AP, 12/7/15)
2015 Dec 8, The administration in Ukraine's Kherson region said that Ukraine has restored electricity to the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.
(AP, 12/8/15)
2015 Dec 16, President Vladimir Putin ordered his government to suspend Russia's free trade zone with Ukraine from Jan. 1, making good on Moscow's threats to Kiev which seeks closer ties with the European Union.
(Reuters, 12/16/15)
2015 Dec 16, Ukraine accused Russia of looting two of its oil rigs after Crimea-based oil and gas firm Chornomornaftogaz moved the equipment off the coast of the annexed peninsula into Russian waters.
(Reuters, 12/16/15)
2015 Dec 18, Ukraine PM Arseny Yatseniuk said the government has imposed a moratorium on the repayment of a $3 billion Eurobond held entirely by Russia, after Moscow refused to accept the terms of a restructuring of the debt.
(Reuters, 12/18/15)
2015 Dec 23, Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian rebels accused each other of violating a holiday ceasefire, just hours after it came into force.
(AFP, 12/23/15)
2015 Dec 27, Ukraine said at least 3 people were killed over the last 24 hours as government forces and pro-Russian separatists clashed in the first violation of a holiday truce.
(AFP, 12/27/15)
2015 Dec 31, Electricity from Ukraine to the Russia-annexed Crimean peninsula was cut again after the collapse of a power pylon.
(AP, 12/31/15)
2015 Dec 31, The Russian finance ministry said it will file a lawsuit against Ukraine after Kiev failed to repay a $3 billion Eurobond and $75 million of interest due today.
(Reuters, 1/1/16)
2015 Serhii Plokhy authored “The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine."
(Econ, 1/2/16, p.64)
2016 Jan 1, Ukraine's free-trade deal with the EU came into effect, coinciding with the start of Moscow's food embargo against Kiev that will force the impoverished former Soviet republic to revisit its economic model.
(AFP, 1/1/16)
2016 Jan 10, Two Ukrainian soldiers and two rebels were killed over the last 24 hours in eastern Ukraine, marking the first deaths this year in the war-torn region.
(AFP, 1/10/16)
2016 Jan 14, Ukraine said 25 people have died from swine flu since the start of the flu season.
(Reuters, 1/14/16)
2016 Jan 20, Ukraine ratcheted up its trade war with Russia in reprisal for Moscow's seeming efforts to slash its westward-leaning neighbor's economic ties with other former Soviet states. PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Kiev was adding 70 food and other products to its existing list of items Russia cannot sell in Ukraine.
(AFP, 1/20/16)
2016 Feb 10, In eastern Ukraine 4 civilians were killed when a minivan carrying them drove over a landmine as they waited to cross out of separatist-held territory.
(Reuters, 2/10/16)
2016 Feb 15, Ukraine PM Arseny Yatseniuk said Russian trucks have been banned from crossing its territory in response to a similar move by Moscow.
(Reuters, 2/15/16)
2016 Feb 16, In Ukraine PM Arseny Yatseniuk survived a no confidence motion, but the majority of Pres. Poroshenko's lawmakers voted against him.
(AP, 2/17/16)
2016 Feb 16, The Ukrainian military said 3 servicemen have been killed and seven wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/16/16)
2016 Feb 17, In Ukraine the Fatherland faction, a junior ally in the Western-backed coalition, quit the government of PM Arseny Yatseniuk. Fatherland was led by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
(Reuters, 2/17/16)
2016 Feb 18, Ukraine sank deeper into political turmoil as the governing coalition lost its majority in parliament after a second faction bailed out. The move by Samopomich (Self Help), which held 26 seats in the 450-seat parliament, left the coalition partners with 217 votes.
(AP, 2/18/16)
2016 Feb 20, In Ukraine nationalist demonstrators attacked two offices of Russian banks in the capital amid observances of the second anniversary of the protests that brought down the Russia-friendly president.
(AP, 2/20/16)
2016 Feb 24, The Ukrainian military press office said that rebel groups fired 84 times on Ukrainian forces in a 24-hour period using 120-mm and 82-mm rocket launchers in violation of peace agreements.
(AP, 2/24/16)
2016 Feb 26, Ukraine's PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk hit out against President Petro Poroshenko and his camp, accusing them of undermining key reforms that are badly needed to overcome the ex-Soviet state's economic malaise.
(AFP, 2/26/16)
2016 Mar 1, Ukraine banned government officials from publicly criticizing the work of state institutions and their colleagues, after damaging disclosures last month that highlighted slow progress in fighting corruption.
(Reuters, 3/1/16)
2016 Mar 2, Ukrainian authorities said 3 soldiers have been killed and two wounded in the Donbas region in the country's east as their car exploded.
(AP, 3/2/16)
2016 Mar 2, Russia's state prosecutor demanded a 23-year prison sentence for Ukrainian pilot and lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko who is accused of killing two Russian journalists in war-torn Ukraine.
(AFP, 3/2/16)
2016 Mar 3, The Ukrainian government accused Russian-backed rebels of using large-caliber weapons despite a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine that required both sides to pull back those arms.
(AP, 3/3/16)
2016 Mar 3, Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who is standing trial over the killing of two Russian journalists in war-torn Ukraine, announced in court that she was going on hunger strike and would refuse both food and water.
(AFP, 3/3/16)
2016 Mar 6, In Ukraine about 2,000 people rallied on Independence Square in Kiev to demand that Russia release pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, with hundreds then marching to the Russian Embassy to vent their anger.
(AP, 3/6/16)
2016 Mar 8, Hundreds of angry Ukrainians picketed Moscow's embassy in Kiev as global calls grew for the release of Nadia Savchenko (34), a hunger-striking military helicopter pilot on trial in Russia.
(AFP, 3/8/16)(Econ, 3/12/16, p.50)
2016 Mar 9, Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who is on trial over the killing of two Russian journalists during the Ukraine conflict, vowed to press on with a hunger strike without water unless Russia releases her.
(AFP, 3/9/16)
2016 Mar 10, Nadezhda Savchenko, the Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia, agreed to take water but will continue a hunger strike following an appeal by Ukraine's president.
(AP, 3/10/16)
2016 Mar 10, European Union governments extended sanctions on Russians and Ukrainians targeted in 2014 over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/10/16)
2016 Mar 18, The European Union called for more countries to impose sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula two years ago, but the Kremlin said Crimea was Russian land and its status non-negotiable.
(Reuters, 3/18/16)
2016 Mar 22, A Russian court sentenced Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko to 22 years in jail after finding her guilty of involvement in the killing of two Russian journalists during the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/22/16)
2016 Mar 25, Russian officials said the body of a lawyer representing one of two Russian servicemen on trial in Ukraine has been found buried in an abandoned farm south of Kiev. Two men have been detained in connection with his murder. Yuri Grabovsky was representing Alexander Alexandrov, a serviceman captured along with another Russian, Yevgeny Yerofeyev, last year in rebel-held eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 3/25/16)
2016 Mar 28, In Ukraine over 500 protesters gathered outside the administrative headquarters of the president to call for the resignation of Viktor Shokin, the country's general prosecutor, who they say, has failed to use the full power of his office to deal with endemic corruption.
(AP, 3/28/16)
2016 Mar 29, Ukraine's parliament sacked chief prosecutor Viktor Shokin over his alleged attempts to stall high-profile corruption investigations and cover up state graft.
(AFP, 3/29/16)
2016 Apr 6, Dutch voters went to the polls and rejected a key EU pact with Ukraine in a referendum triggered by grassroots eurosceptic groups and seen as a yardstick on ties with Brussels.
(AFP, 4/6/16)(Reuters, 4/7/16)
2016 Apr 9, Ukraine reported a sharp increase in attacks by Russia-backed separatists around the government-held town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, resulting in at least one civilian death. Rebels in eastern Ukraine reported increased shelling from government forces and the death of one of their fighters.
(AP, 4/9/16)
2016 Apr 10, Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatseniuk tendered his resignation, effective April 12, in a televised broadcast and signaled support for parliamentary speaker and presidential ally Volodymyr Groysman to take over his post.
(Reuters, 4/10/16)
2016 Apr 13, The Lithuanian government said it has blacklisted 46 Russian citizens involved in criminal prosecutions of several Ukrainians including the imprisoned pilot Nadezhda Savchenko.
(AP, 4/13/16)
2016 Apr 14, Ukraine's parliament appointed pro-Western speaker Volodymyr Groysman (38) as prime minister in a bid to end months of political gridlock and unlock vital aid to the war torn-state.
(AFP, 4/14/16)
2016 Apr 18, A Ukrainian court sentenced two Russian servicemen captured last year to 14 years each in prison after finding them guilty of terrorism and waging a war in eastern Ukraine. The ruling opened the door to a possible prisoner swap between the two countries.
(AP, 4/18/16)
2016 Apr 19, President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine has reached a deal with Russia to free a jailed Ukrainian pilot, suggesting that she will be swapped for two Russian servicemen jailed in Ukraine this week.
(AP, 4/19/16)
2016 Apr 21, European Union Commissioner Johannes Hahn said on a visit to Kiev that the new Ukrainian government must use its first 100 days in office to implement reforms needed to secure 600 million euros in new aid.
(Reuters, 4/21/16)
2016 Apr 24, The Ukrainian government said three troops have been killed in the volatile eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours. Heavy fighting forced an evacuation of workers repairing a gas main damaged by a previous attack.
(AP, 4/24/16)
2016 Apr 27, In eastern Ukraine at least five people including a pregnant woman were killed and more than 10 injured on the front line in the worst civilian loss of life there in months. The victims were spending the night in their cars at the checkpoint outside the village of Olenivka hoping to cross the line in the morning.
(AP, 4/27/16)
2016 Apr 29, Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in fresh fighting between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in the east even as a new truce took effect.
(AFP, 4/29/16)
2016 May 1, In eastern Ukraine 3 deaths were reported in fighting despite a recently brokered armistice for Orthodox Easter.
(AP, 5/1/16)
2016 May 9, An Australian law firm filed a compensation claim against Russia and President Vladimir Putin in the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of families of victims of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, shot down over Ukraine on July 17, 2014. The application names the Russian Federation and Putin as respondents and seeks $10 million in compensation per passenger.
(Reuters, 5/21/16)
2016 May 14, Ukraine's interior minister lambasted reporters who were accredited by pro-Russian rebels to cover fighting in the country's east, after their details were leaked by hackers.
(AFP, 5/14/16)
2016 May 15, Jubilant Ukrainians erupted in celebration after Jamala won the Eurovision Song Contest with a powerful tribute to her Tatar people's deportation from Russian-annexed Crimea in 1944.
(AFP, 5/15/16)
2016 May 24, Ukraine’s government said 7 soldiers have died from shelling in the war-torn east over the past 24 hours, the biggest casualty toll in a single day this year.
(AFP, 5/24/16)
2016 May 25, Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko (35) arrived home to scenes of jubilation after her release by Russia in a prisoner swap and she promptly offered to fight again for Kiev in its conflict with pro-Russian separatists. Russian State television showed Alexander Alexandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev, descending the steps of an aircraft at Moscow's Vnukovo airport after being handed over by Kiev.
(Reuters, 5/25/16)
2016 May 27, In Ukraine Nadezhda Savchenko (35), the pilot who returned to a hero's welcome after two years in Russian custody, declared she would run for president if that's what Ukrainians wanted.
(AP, 5/27/16)
2016 May 29, Ukraine’s military said 5 soldiers have been killed and four wounded in fresh clashes with pro-Russian separatists in the country's east over the last 24 hours.
(AFP, 5/29/16)
2016 May 29, In Ukraine 17 people died when an unlicensed home for elderly people caught fire in the village of Litochky in the early hours.
(AFP, 5/29/16)
2016 Jun 3, The UN accused both the Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian rebels of torturing fighters and their sympathisers captured in the separatist east.
(AFP, 6/3/16)
2016 Jun 7, Russia's gas monopolist Gazprom says it will resume selling gas to Ukraine, following an official request from Kiev.
(AP, 6/7/16)
2016 Jun 12, In Ukraine about 1,000 gay rights activists held the country’s first major gay pride march through central Kiev amid an unprecedented security operation in the ex-Soviet country where homophobia remains widespread.
(AFP, 6/12/16)(SFC, 6/13/16, p.A2)
2016 Jun 15, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg demanded that Russia withdraw its forces and military hardware from Ukraine, and halt its support for pro-Moscow separatists battling Kiev.
(AFP, 6/15/16)
2016 Jun 17, The EU rolled over for another year sanctions imposed to protest Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which the bloc deems illegal.
(AFP, 6/17/16)
2016 Jun 29, In eastern Ukraine Wassyl Slipak, a former baritone opera singer, was killed by sniper fire. He had performed in French opera productions for nearly two decades before joining a volunteer battalion fighting Russian-backed rebels.
(SFC, 6/30/16, p.A2)
2016 Jul 6, In Ukraine several thousand trade union activists marched through the streets of Kiev to the country's parliament to protest an upcoming hike in utility prices.
(AP, 7/6/16)
2016 Jul 7, The US State Department said the US will provide nearly $23 million in additional humanitarian aid to help people affected by the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 7/7/16)
2016 Jul 19, Ukraine said 7 government troops were killed in the past 24 hours during fighting with pro-Russian separatists, making July the deadliest month for the Ukrainian military in nearly a year after a sharp increase in violence.
(Reuters, 7/19/16)
2016 Jul 20, Ukrainska Pravda journalist Pavel Sheremet (44) died in an explosion in Kiev as he got into his car to drive to work to anchor a talk show on a local radio station. The Belarusian-born Sheremet irked officials in Belarus and Russia before he moved to Ukraine, where he said there were fewer hurdles to independent reporting.
(AP, 7/20/16)
2016 Jul 24, Ukraine said six government soldiers were killed in the east by rebel separatists over the last 24 hours.
(SFC, 7/25/16, p.A2)
2016 Jul 25, Ukrainian nationalists blocked a religious procession from entering Kiev, calling the marchers "agents of Moscow" and pelting the believers who were carrying Orthodox icons and crosses with eggs. The nationalists claimed that the procession is a ruse to sow discord in Ukraine. Police the next day barred the procession from entering Kiev, after finding ammunition planted along the planned route.
(AP, 7/26/16)
2016 Jul 27, In Ukraine thousands of Russian Orthodox Christian pilgrims reached the center of Kiev and finished their procession to the city's most revered monastery after their march was disrupted a day earlier.
(AP, 7/27/16)
2016 Jul 27, Ukraine revoked a Soviet-era deal that allowed visa-free travel for North Koreans.
(Reuters, 8/31/16)
2016 Jul 28, In northern Ukraine three people died, including a NATO representative, in an explosion while a missile was being unloaded from a vehicle at a military installation.
(Reuters, 7/29/16)
2016 Aug 2, In Ukraine Nadiya Savchenko, the servicewoman-turned-lawmaker who spent two years in a Russian jail, announced a new hunger strike to speed up the release of other Ukrainian prisoners-of-war, accusing Pres. Poroshenko of ignoring their plight.
(Reuters, 8/2/16)
2016 Aug 3, A Ukrainian nationalist website published an email archive with copies of IDs and personal data of Ukrainian and international journalists.
(AP, 8/4/16)
2016 Aug 6, In eastern Ukraine Igor Plotnitsky, separatist leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, was wounded in a car bombing.
(AP, 8/6/16)
2016 Aug 7, Ukraine’s military said 3 soldiers have been killed and four others injured over the last 24 hours in fresh clashes between pro-Russian rebels and government forces in the war-scarred east.
(AFP, 8/7/16)
2016 Aug 10, Russia's Federal Security Service said it had thwarted two armed Ukrainian attempts over the weekend to get saboteurs into Crimea and dismantled a Ukrainian spy network inside the annexed peninsula. Ukraine denied the action.
(Reuters, 8/10/16)
2016 Aug 11, Ukraine's president ordered the army to be on combat alert on the country's de-facto border with Crimea and on the front line in eastern Ukraine following Moscow's accusations that Ukraine sent in "saboteurs" to carry out attacks in Crimea.
(AP, 8/11/16)
2016 Aug 21, Ukraine said Russian activist Roman Roslovtsev, better known for his walks across Red Square in a President Vladimir Putin mask, has requested political asylum in their country.
(AP, 8/22/16)
2016 Aug 22, Ukraine said it has launched a criminal investigation of 20 senior Russian officials, alleging their involvement in crimes against Ukraine's national security.
(CSM, 8/22/16)
2016 Sep 19, In Russia Yevgeny Zhilin (40), a prominent Ukrainian separatist figure, was fatally shot in the Gorki-2 neighborhood west of Moscow. Zhilin has been on Ukraine's wanted list since 2015.
(AP, 9/20/16)
2016 Sep 21, Representatives of Ukraine and separatist rebels agreed to pull back troops and weapons from several areas in eastern Ukraine. The agreement signed in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, applies to three specific areas and will be monitored by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
(AP, 9/21/16)
2016 Sep 28, A Dutch-led inquiry into the July 2014 downing of Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine said the Boeing 777 was shot down by a BUK missile system from an area in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, and that the system was brought in from Russia and then taken back there. Russian missile-maker Almaz-Antey said the BUK missile was fired from territory held by the Ukrainian army and the prosecutors' findings were not supported by technical evidence.
(AFP, 9/28/16)(Reuters, 9/28/16)
2016 Oct 1, Ukraine's army and pro-Russian separatists both announced the pull back of their troops from a small eastern city as agreed in a demilitarization accord signed last month.
(AFP, 10/1/16)
2016 Oct 16, In eastern Ukraine Arseny Pavlov (33), a prominent Russian separatist commander known as “Motorola," was assassinated in Donetsk. His allies accused the Ukrainian government forces of murdering him to try to destabilize an already fragile ceasefire. Four armed masked men claimed responsibility for the killing in a video uploaded to the Internet. They appeared alongside a flag belonging to a pro-Ukrainian neo-Nazi group.
(Reuters, 10/17/16)
2016 Oct 27, In eastern Ukraine six people died in clashes between government forces and pro-Russian insurgents, the highest death toll since international peace talks held 10 days ago.
(AFP, 10/28/16)
2016 Oct 30, Ukraine officials faced a deadline to upload details of their assets and income in 2015 to a publicly searchable database. Reuters calculations based on the declarations show that the 24 members of the Ukrainian cabinet together have nearly $7 million, just in cash. The average salary in the country is just over $200 per month.
(Reuters, 10/31/16)
2016 Nov 7, In Ukraine Mikhail Saakashvili, the former Georgian president who became governor of the Odessa region, announced that he is resigning in frustration at what he characterized as obstruction in efforts to root out corruption.
(AP, 11/7/16)
2016 Nov 17, European Union states agreed to waive visas for Ukrainians on short visits, but only after the bloc beefs up a mechanism to suspend visa-free agreements in an emergency.
(Reuters, 11/17/16)
2016 Nov 22, Ukraine's justice minister Pavlo Petrenko appointed law graduate Anna Kalynchuk (23) to lead a campaign to purge officials tainted by corruption of the ousted regime. Last week, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov appointed a 24-year old woman as deputy interior minister and was promptly accused of promoting his protégé, who attracted extra attention because of some nude photos of her posted online.
(AP, 11/23/16)
2016 Nov 25, In eastern Ukraine the Czech humanitarian organization Clovek v Tisni (People in Need, PIN) was banned from the Donetsk area by separatist authorities.
(Reuters, 11/27/16)
2016 Dec 3, In Ukraine five policemen were killed by friendly fire in a tragic accident in which officers mistook colleagues for burglars in the small town of Knyazychy. A gang of three burglars fled the scene but were detained as they travelled back to Kiev.
(AFP, 12/4/16)
2016 Dec 8, The European Union said it will allow Ukrainians and Georgians to visit the bloc without a visa after diplomats and lawmakers struck a deal to end an internal EU dispute that had been holding up the plan.
(Reuters, 12/8/16)
2016 Dec 14, A Dutch court ruled that a priceless collection of gold artifacts from Crimea that was on loan to a Dutch museum when Russia seized the peninsula must be returned to Ukraine and not Crimea.
(Reuters, 12/14/16)
2016 Dec 18, The Ukraine Cabinet agreed to move PrivatBank into full state ownership, following concerns over its stability in a move welcomed by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
(AP, 12/19/16)
2016 Dec 18, In Ukraine a power distribution station near Kiev unexpectedly switched off early today, leaving the northern part of the capital without electricity. The company's IT specialists soon found transmission data that had not been included in standard protocols, suggesting that external interference was the likeliest scenario.
(Reuters, 12/20/16)
2016 Dec 21, Ukraine officials said at least two Ukrainian troops have been killed in the past 24 hours in renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine. At least 7 Ukrainian troops have been killed in fighting since Dec 18 with dozens more injured and shell-shocked.
(AP, 12/21/16)
2016 Dec 23, A Ukrainian official said at least two Ukrainian troops have been killed and three injured in the past 24 hours in renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 12/23/16)
2016 Dec 24, Both the Ukrainian government and Russia-backed rebels in the east of the country said a new cease-fire that was to come into effect midnight last night has been violated.
(AP, 12/24/16)
2016 Dec 27, Ukrainian female combat pilot Nadya Savchenko, who served time in a Russian prison, launched her own opposition movement: RUNA, an acronym for the Movement of Ukraine's Active People. She said the movement would be transformed into a political party when the time was right. Ukraine's pro-Moscow insurgents released two women they had held captive thanks to the intervention of Nadya Savchenko.
(AFP, 12/27/16)
2017 Jan 2, Ukraine reported a one-third drop in its use of natural gas and general energy savings that will be cheered by its financial backers from the IMF.
(AFP, 1/2/17)
2017 Jan 6, Blizzards swept parts of Europe, causing at least nine deaths, closing roads and resulting in traffic accidents, travel delays and medical evacuations. In Poland, the cold was blamed for five deaths in 24 hours. Ukraine officials reported that four people had died from effects of the cold in the Lviv region near the Polish border.
(AP, 1/6/17)
2017 Jan 12, Human Rights Watch in an annual report accused the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists of holding dozens of civilians in arbitrary detention in Ukraine's industrial east, where fighting has killed more than 9,600 people since 2014.
(AP, 1/12/17)
2017 Jan 14, Ukrainian government forces and the pro-Russian separatist rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine accused each other of disrupting a fragile truce declared late December.
(AFP, 1/14/17)
2017 Jan 17, Ukraine said it has filed a case against Russia at the United Nations' highest court, accusing Moscow of illegally annexing Crimea and illicitly funding separatist rebel groups in eastern Ukraine. Kiev also is seeking compensation for deadly incidents including the 2014 shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
(AP, 1/17/17)
2017 Jan 29, Three Ukrainian servicemen were killed when pro-Russian rebels attacked government positions in Avdiyivka, cutting off power supplies to the eastern frontline town.
(Reuters, 1/29/17)
2017 Jan 30, In Ukraine a sudden surge in clashes between government forces and Russian-backed rebels killed at least six people despite a tattered truce in Ukraine's war-scarred east.
(AFP, 1/30/17)
2017 Jan 31, Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels were locked in fighting for a third straight day at a flashpoint town that left thousands shivering without power and sparked renewed EU concern about security in its backyard.
(AFP, 1/31/17)
2017 Feb 1, Ukraine government forces and Russian-backed separatists exchanged mortar and rocket fire for a 4th day around the flashpoint eastern town of Avdiivka that sits just north of the rebels' de facto capital Donetsk. The Ukrainian military said three of its soldiers had died overnight while the rebels said as many civilians had been killed. The bodies of seven soldiers killed in the fighting were brought to Kiev.
(AFP, 2/1/17)(Econ, 2/4/17, p.44)
2017 Feb 2, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko appealed for more global pressure against Russia on as Moscow-backed rebels and government forces clashed around a frontline town for a fifth day in a surge of fighting that has claimed a reported 21 lives.
(AFP, 2/2/17)
2017 Feb 3, Clashes between Ukrainian forces and Moscow-backed rebels left two more dead in the flashpoint town of Avdiivka and five others elsewhere in bloodshed that has prompted the US to condemn Russia's "aggressive" stance.
(AFP, 2/3/17)
2017 Feb 4, In Ukraine Lugansk People's Militia commander Oleg Anashchenko died when his automobile exploded. Militia spokesman Andrei Marochko accused Ukrainian special services of causing the explosion.
(AP, 2/4/17)
2017 Feb 5, Ukraine's military says two soldiers were wounded in fighting with rebels in the separatist east, but that artillery attacks were significantly lower after a week in which fighting surged.
(AP, 2/5/17)
2017 Feb 8, In eastern Ukraine Mikhail Tolstykh (36), the military chief of a self-proclaimed Russian-backed Donetsk republic, was blown up with a grenade launcher. Rebels blamed Ukrainian security services.
(AFP, 2/8/17)(Econ, 2/11/17, p.38)
2017 Feb 8, The Czech government said it has decided to double its quota for Ukrainian workers, due to an acute labor shortage as the economy continues to grow strongly.
(Reuters, 2/8/17)
2017 Feb 9, NATO alliance deputy head Rose Gottemoeller said all 28 member allies fully support Ukraine as it faces the worst upsurge in fighting against pro-Russian rebels in two years.
(AFP, 2/9/17)
2017 Feb 18, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting with his Ukrainian, German and French counterparts in Munich that a Feb. 20 ceasefire between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists has been agreed.
(Reuters, 2/18/17)
2017 Feb 18, The Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an order for Russia to recognize passports and other documents issued by separatist rebel authorities in eastern Ukraine. Russian lawmaker, Vladimir Dzhabarov, said the measure does not formally recognize the rebel authorities as legitimate.
(AP, 2/18/17)
2017 Feb 20, Ukraine's military accused pro-Moscow rebels of breaking a new ceasefire deal barely hours after it came into effect, as Western powers warned Russia over its actions in the former Soviet state. One soldier was killed and another wounded in fighting in the country's separatist east despite the new truce that started at midnight.
(AFP, 2/20/17)
2017 Feb 21, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko called for new sanctions against Russia over its decision to recognize passports issued by separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine, while the Kremlin accused Ukraine of denying vital documents to people in the rebel regions.
(AP, 2/21/17)
2017 Feb 21, An Austrian court approved a US extradition request for Ukrainian oligarch Dymitro Firtash, suspected of paying millions of dollars in bribes to Indian officials.
(AP, 2/21/17)
2017 Feb 26, The United States called on Russia to "immediately" observe the ceasefire in Ukraine, accusing combined Russian and separatist forces of targeting international monitors.
(AFP, 2/26/17)
2017 Feb, In Ukraine a small group of irregulars and volunteers blocked railway traffic across the line of control halting freight between separatist territories and the rest of Ukraine. Pres. Poroshenko opposed the blockade but support for it soared and the government joined them imposing a trade and energy blockade on the occupied territories. separatists responded by seizing control of all the coal mines and steel and chemical plants owned by Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine richest oligarch.
(Econ 5/27/17, p.46)
2017 Mar 1, In Ukraine a fifth of a million phone users in the rebel-controlled eastern city of Donetsk were cut off from the rest of the country. Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine said they are taking over 40 factories and coal mines. They include those owned by tycoon Rinat Akhmetov, whose foundation has been the largest provider of humanitarian aid to a war-battered population.
(Reuters, 3/1/17)(AP, 3/1/17)
2017 Mar 2, In western Ukraine eight miners died when a methane gas explosion tore through a pit in the western Lviv region.
(AFP, 3/2/17)
2017 Mar 3, Ukrainian state agencies sought to detain Roman Nasirov, the head of the tax and customs service, over the alleged embezzlement of around $75 million - a potentially landmark case after patchy anti-graft efforts from the Western-backed authorities. Television footage from the previous evening showed an apparently unconscious Roman Nasirov being stretchered into an ambulance and taken to Kiev's Feofania hospital.
(Reuters, 3/3/17)
2017 Mar 3, In Ukraine dozens of sex workers and human rights campaigners gathered in Kiev demanding the legalization of prostitution in the post-Soviet state.
(AFP, 3/3/17)
2017 Mar 6, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister accused Russia of financing terrorism by shipping arms, ammunition and funds to separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine and of discriminating against non-Russians in the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
(SFC, 3/7/17, p.A2)
2017 Mar 7, A Ukraine judge ordered Roman Nasirov, the country’s top tax official, to be jailed or pay a hefty bail pending his trial for suspected embezzlement.
(Reuters, 3/7/17)
2017 Mar 11, Ukraine's army reported two soldiers killed in clashes with Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine over the last 24 hours. A rebel spokesman in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said that one of its fighters had been killed.
(AFP, 3/11/17)
2017 Mar 13, The EU said it has prolonged for six months until Sept. 15 a blacklist of Russian and Crimean individuals and firms accused of undermining Ukraine's integrity and independence.
(Reuters, 3/13/17)
2017 Mar 15, Ukraine's Security and Defence Council approved the suspension of all cargo traffic with separatist-held territory.
(Reuters, 3/15/17)
2017 Mar 16, The European Commission agreed to send Ukraine 600 million euros ($643.20 million) to help its finances, ending months of delays over EU conditions linked to the loan.
(Reuters, 3/16/17)
2017 Mar 16, European security watchdog OSCE prolonged its monitoring mission to Ukraine by one year until March 2018. The unarmed, civilian mission with more than 700 international observers seeks to reduce tensions and report on the situation on the ground.
(AP, 3/16/17)
2017 Mar 19, The IMF and Ukrainian authorities said the International Monetary Fund has postponed a decision to disburse more aid to Ukraine in order to assess the impact of an economic blockade Kiev imposed on separatist-held territory.
(Reuters, 3/19/17)
2017 Mar 22, Tensions between Russia and Ukraine spread to the May Eurovision Song Contest after Kiev banned Russian contestant Yuliya Samoilova (27) from entering the country over a past performance in Moscow-annexed Crimea.
(AFP, 3/22/17)
2017 Mar 23, In Ukraine former Russian parliamentarian Denis Voronenkov (45) was killed by an assailant who was armed with a pistol and later died in hospital after being shot in the chest and head by Voronenkov's bodyguard. Voronenkov was key witness in a treason case against former leader Viktor Yanukovich. Ukraine soon identified the assailant as Pavel Parshov (28) and said he had been trained in Russia by Russian security services.
(Reuters, 3/23/17)(AP, 3/24/17)
2017 Mar 23, In Ukraine fire and explosions caused the detonation of ammunition in several sites at a military base at in Balaklia in the Kharkiv region. One woman was found dead in a home that was hit by a shell. Ukraine suspected the Russian military or its separatist rebel proxies were responsible and cited a possible drone attack.
(AP, 3/23/17)(AP, 3/24/17)
2017 Mar 29, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) searched the offices of the central bank as part of an investigation into allegations that central bank officials abused their position to benefit third parties.
(Reuters, 3/29/17)
2017 Apr 1, Ukraine complained of "unprecedented and unacceptable" calls from the Eurovision Song Contest's organizers for it to lift an entry ban on Russia's contestant. Ukraine has barred Russia's 27-year-old singer Yulia Samoilova over illegally entering Moscow-annexed Crimea for a 2015 performance.
(AFP, 4/1/17)
2017 Apr 6, European lawmakers voted 521 to 75 to grant Ukrainians holding biometric passports the right to visit for up to 90 days for tourism, business or visiting relatives and friends.
(Reuters, 4/6/17)
2017 Apr 8, Prosecutors said 17 people have been detained in Moldova and Ukraine on suspicion of planning to kill Vladimir Plahotniuc, head of Moldova’s Democratic Party.
(SSFC, 4/9/17, p.A4)
2017 Apr 10, Ukraine's central bank governor, Valeria Gontareva, resigned, depriving the country of a tough reformer capable of taking on vested interests at a time when the economy is just recovering from a steep recession.
(AP, 4/9/17)
2017 Apr 19, Judges at the UN's highest court rejected a Ukrainian interim request to order Russia to stop supporting troops in the east of the country, saying its request did not meet legal requirements under an international terrorism treaty. The court ordered Russia to halt discrimination of ethnic Crimean Tartars.
(Reuters, 4/19/17)
2017 Apr 21, Ukrainian authorities detained former lawmaker Mykola Martynenko and Sergiy Pereloma, the deputy chief of state energy firm Naftogaz, in a case related to the embezzlement of $17.3 million through selling uranium concentrate at inflated prices.
(Reuters, 4/21/17)
2017 Apr 23, In eastern Ukraine an American member of the OSCE's arms monitoring mission died and two others were wounded after their vehicle was blown up by a mine in the separatist Luhansk region.
(AP, 4/23/17)(SFC, 4/24/17, p.A2)
2017 Apr 25, Ukraine cut electricity to parts of an eastern region controlled by pro-Russian separatists, citing unpaid debt - a step the Kremlin said amounted to a rejection by Kiev of breakaway territories.
(Reuters, 4/25/17)
2017 Apr 25, Russian officials announced they will begin supplying electricity to separatist-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine after the Ukrainian government cut off the power because of millions in unpaid bills.
(AP, 4/25/17)
2017 Apr 26, Three Ukrainian troops were killed and four wounded in eastern Ukraine in an apparent flare-up of fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatists.
(AP, 4/26/17)
2017 May 16, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russia's largest internet group Yandex and other popular online firms, saying it wanted to guard against cyber-attacks, and the Kremlin threatened retaliation.
(Reuters, 5/16/17)
2017 May 29, Poland extradited Benjamin F. to Austria. He was suspected of war crimes after he allegedly killed civilians and enemy troops last year who had already surrendered while he was fighting on the side of Ukrainian forces.
(AP, 5/30/17)
2017 Jun 5, Natalya Sharina (59), the head of Russia's only state-run Ukrainian library, was convicted of inciting hatred against Russians in a case that she compared to a Stalin-era political show trial. Masked police arrested her in October 2015, confiscating books that the authorities called illegal anti-Russian propaganda.
(Reuters, 6/5/17)
2017 Jun 7, In Ukraine at least one soldier was killed and seven others were injured in an apparent uptick in fighting in the country's east.
(AP, 6/7/17)
2017 Jun 11, Ukrainians celebrated the first day of visa-free access to the European Union, with thousands crossing the border as President Petro Poroshenko proclaimed a dramatic "exit" from Moscow's grip.
(AFP, 6/11/17)
2017 Jun 12, Ukraine said seven soldiers have been killed in just three days in renewed fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country. This brought the death toll to 14 since the beginning of June.
(AFP, 6/12/17)
2017 Jun 18, In Ukraine more than two thousand people took part in Kiev's gay pride event amid a heavy police presence as nationalist protesters tried to halt the event and burned a rainbow flag.
(AFP, 6/18/17)
2017 Jun 20, The Trump administration announced that it has imposed sanctions on two Russian officials and three dozen other individuals and companies over Russian activities in the Ukraine. Soon after the announcement Pres. Trump met with Ukraine’s Pres. Petro Poroshenko.
(SFC, 6/21/17, p.A3)
2017 Jun 21, The Ukraine government said it has agreed to a new cease-fire with Russia-backed rebels in the war-torn east.
(SFC, 6/22/17, p.A2)
2017 Jun 24, In eastern Ukraine two rebel gunmen were killed in skirmishes with Ukrainian forces. One of the gunmen was a group commander and "professional Russian soldier," named as Captain Alexander Shcherbak. Four rebel militants were captured, including Viktor Ageyev a Russian citizen (22) and resident of the Altai region.
(AFP, 6/28/17)
2017 Jun 27, In Ukraine military intelligence Colonel Maksim Shapoval was killed by a car bomb in central Kiev.
(Reuters, 6/27/17)
2017 Jun 27, A major ransomware attack hit computers at Russia's biggest oil company, the country's banks, Ukraine's international airport as well as Danish global shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk. Germany's Metro said its wholesale stores in the Ukraine have been hit by a cyber-attack and the retailer was assessing the impact.
(Reuters, 6/27/17)
2017 Jun 27, A Swiss government information technology agency said ransomware known as Petya seems to have re-emerged to affect computer systems across Europe, causing issues primarily in Ukraine, Russia, England and India. In 2018 Britain blamed the Russian government for the NotPetya cyber-attack.
(Reuters, 6/27/17)(Econ 7/1/17, p.72)(SFC, 2/16/18, p.A4)
2017 Jun 28, A cyber-attack wreaked havoc around the globe, crippling thousands of computers, disrupting operations at ports from Mumbai to Los Angeles and halting production at a chocolate factory in Australia. ESET, a Slovakian company that sells products to shield computers from viruses, said 80 percent of the infections detected among its global customer base were in Ukraine, with Italy second hardest hit with about 10 percent. The malware seemed to be a variant of past campaigns, derived from code known as Eternal Blue believed to have been developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
(Reuters, 6/28/17)
2017 Jul 3, Ukraine said it is investigating the country’s M.E. Doc software company, accused of being patient zero in the June 28 global cyberepidemic. The company’s eponymous software is widely used by businesses across the country.
(SFC, 7/4/17, p.A2)
2017 Jul 9, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Russia that it must take the first steps to reduce tensions in eastern Ukraine and that American and European sanctions would remain in place until Moscow reversed course in the region.
(AP, 7/9/17)
2017 Jul 11, The EU formally approved a landmark cooperation accord with Ukraine meant to counter a hostile Russia ahead of a high-profile summit in Kiev.
(AFP, 7/11/17)
2017 Jul 13, European Union leaders pushed Ukraine to step up its battle against corruption after the 28-nation bloc agreed to ratify a landmark cooperation deal.
(AFP, 7/13/17)
2017 Jul 18, The presidents of Ukraine and Georgia agreed to work together to further their ambitions to join NATO and the European Union, in defiance of threats from former master Russia.
(AFP, 7/18/17)
2017 Jul 18, Separatists in eastern Ukraine proclaimed a new state, Malorossiya (Little Russia), that aspires to include not only the areas they control but also the rest of the country. But Russia, their chief backer, sought to play down the announcement, saying it was merely part of public discussion.
(AP, 7/18/17)
2017 Jul 19, Ukrainian President Petru Poroshenko said Ukraine and Georgia will coordinate their efforts to reclaim areas captured by pro-Russian separatists. Fresh clashes in east Ukraine left two soldiers dead in a spike in fighting as a key rebel leader announced he planned to create a new "state".
(AP, 7/19/17)(AFP, 7/19/17)
2017 Jul 21, In eastern Ukraine health activist Natalia Gurova struggled to manage a project in her insurgent-controlled home city of Lugansk handing out clean syringes and condoms to drug-users and sex workers who are most at risk from HIV and hepatitis.
(AFP, 7/21/17)
2017 Jul 23, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko demanded Russia's Vladimir Putin halt arms supplies to rebels as the leaders of France and Germany tried to revive a peace plan.
(Reuters, 7/24/17)
2017 Jul 26, Ukraine’s migration service said President Petro Poroshenko has stripped one-time ally Mikheil Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship, spelling the likely end of the former Georgian president's political aspirations in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 7/27/17)
2017 Aug 29, Ukrainian security said it barred two Spanish journalists last week from the country over their coverage of a conflict with eastern separatists - a move media groups decried as an attack on free speech. The State Security Service (SBU) said the reporters had produced stories alleging Ukrainian troops had shelled civilian areas, an account it said was false.
(Reuters, 8/29/17)
2017 Aug 30, Ukraine said Russian propagandist Anna Kurbatova will be forcibly returned to Russia. Kiev accused her of spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
(Reuters, 8/30/17)
2017 Sep 5, President Vladimir Putin said Russia will ask the UN Security Council to send peacekeepers to patrol the front line in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 9/5/17)
2017 Sep 10, Ukrainian authorities blocked a train in Poland carrying stateless former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili as the firebrand politician attempted to return to Ukraine to reclaim his citizenship there, stripped in 2016 by President Petro Poroshenko in a bitter row. Saakashvili lost his Georgian citizenship when he was granted a Ukrainian passport in 2015, as the country bans dual citizenship. Saakashvili decided to dismount the train and try to cross the border by bus.
(AFP, 9/10/17)(AP, 9/10/17)
2017 Sep 14, Ukraine welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's declared openness to deployment of United Nations peacekeepers in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, but said Russian troops must not join such an operation.
(Reuters, 9/14/17)
2017 Sep 15, In Ukraine a fire swept through a children's camp in the Black Sea port of Odessa, killing two girls and leaving a third one missing.
(AFP, 9/16/17)
2017 Sep 25, Ukraine's president signed a controversial law on education, causing fury in Hungary which is threatening to block Ukraine's efforts to integrate with the EU. The law restructures Ukraine's education system and specifies that Ukrainian will be the main language used in schools, rolling back the option for lessons to be taught in other languages.
(AP, 9/26/17)
2017 Sep 27, Ukrainian authorities evacuated more than 30,000 people from the central Vinnytsia region after a huge arms depot storing missiles caught fire and exploded in what prosecutors said was a possible act of sabotage.
(AFP, 9/27/17)
2017 Sep 28, In Ukraine a Kiev court froze four rail assets of billionaire Igor Kolomoyskiy in a long-running corruption case that led to the state's eventual takeover of PrivatBank, Ukraine's largest private bank.
(AFP, 9/29/17)
2017 Sep 28, Ukraine's Commander in Chief Viktor Muzhenko said Russia has withdrawn only a few units from Belarus and had lied about how many of its soldiers were there in the first place. A Belarussian defense ministry spokesman later said the last train of Russian troops and equipment had left Belarus today.
(Reuters, 9/29/17)(Reuters, 9/30/17)
2017 Oct 5, Defense ministers from Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine authorized their two-year-old joint brigade to take part in international missions for the region's security.
(AP, 10/5/17)
2017 Oct 6, The Ukrainian parliament passed hotly-disputed bills regarding the rebel-controlled eastern territories following debates interrupted by scuffles.
(AP, 10/6/17)
2017 Oct 9, Ukraine's chief prosecutor blamed Vladimir Tyurin, a Russian crime lord linked to Russia's security agency, for ordering the killing of renegade Russian lawmaker Denis Voronenkov last March.
(AP, 10/9/17)
2017 Oct 11, Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau said it had detained a deputy defense minister and another top military official for allegedly embezzling millions in state funding through an illegal oil-purchase scheme.
(AFP, 10/11/17)
2017 Oct 13, Romania’s foreign minister said Ukraine has pledged not to close Romanian language schools under a new education law that has caused alarm in Romania, Russia and Hungary.
(AP, 10/13/17)
2017 Oct 18, Hundreds of disgruntled Ukrainian activists gathered in a tent camp outside parliament to demand a more forceful fight against government graft.
(AFP, 10/18/17)
2017 Oct 19, Ukrainian lawmakers voted through a long-delayed overhaul of the health system that the state's Western backers say will raise standards and tackle a culture of bribe-taking in surgeries and hospitals.
(Reuters, 10/19/17)
2017 Oct 19, Ukrainian lawmakers moved towards meeting one of the demands of anti-corruption protesters who have set up the first tent city in Kiev since the pro-EU revolt of 2014. Lawmakers agreed to push forward for Constitutional Court review a bill stripping parliament members of immunity from prosecution starting in 2020.
(AFP, 10/19/17)
2017 Oct 23, Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators raided the home and office of Odessa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov and his associates at the center of a politically charged embezzlement probe.
(AFP, 10/23/17)
2017 Oct 24, Cyber attacks hit Ukraine's Odessa airport and the metro system in Kiev. The Odessa airport said it had tightened security measures after being hit by a cyber attack, while the metro system in Kiev also reported a hack on its payment system.
(Reuters, 10/24/17)
2017 Oct 25, In Ukraine Radical Party member Igor Mosiychuk was walking out of its studio after giving an interview when an explosive device went off near a scooter parked on the street. Ukraine soon opened a "terror" probe after the lawmaker was wounded and two people killed in the bombing. His nationalist party called this assassination attempt linked to Russia.
(AFP, 10/26/17)
2017 Oct 25, Crimean Tatar activists Ilmi Umerov and Ahtem Chiygoz, who opposed to Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, were released from prison and flown to Turkey. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko thanked Turkey's president for helping broker the release.
(AP, 10/25/17)(Reuters, 10/27/17)
2017 Oct 27, Crimean Tatar activists Ilmi Umerov and Ahtem Chiygoz, released from Russian custody on Oct. 25, arrived in Ukraine said they would travel back to the annexed peninsula and campaign for the freedom of other political prisoners and the return of Crimea to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 10/27/17)
2017 Nov 20, In Ukraine Mikhail Saakashvili, former Georgian President, raised the pressure on Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, saying the country needs a new Cabinet and he's ready to lead it.
(AP, 11/20/17)
2017 Nov 20, Belarus's KGB state security service said it had uncovered a spy ring working for the Ukrainian defence ministry that had been set up by a detained Ukrainian radio correspondent. Minsk-based journalist Pavlo Sharoyko was arrested in October and charged with being an undercover intelligence officer. The Ukrainian defence ministry denied the allegations against Sharoyko who it said had worked as a spokesman for the ministry before switching to journalism in 2009.
(Reuters, 11/20/17)
2017 Nov 22, In eastern Ukraine dozens of armed men occupied the center of Luhansk city blocking entrances to several government buildings during a standoff between two top officials in the separatist enclave. A day earlier the interior minister refused to step down after being dismissed by the prime minister for what was called illegal activity.
(SFC, 11/22/17, p.A2)
2017 Nov 24, Ukraine said five of its soldiers had died during fighting in the east over the last 24 hours, as it accused Russia of ramping up its military presence in the region amid squabbles among warring rebel factions. Eight rebels were reported killed and another nine wounded.
(AFP, 11/24/17)
2017 Nov 24, The EU pledged to deepen ties with six former Soviet states (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus), as part of efforts to counter Russian influence, but warned them they had no chance of joining the bloc any time soon.
(AP, 11/24/17)
2017 Nov 24, In eastern Ukraine the region's news agency said Igor Plotnitsky, the leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, has resigned following a week of tensions between rival factions.
(AP, 11/24/17)
2017 Nov 30, The Kiev-based Ukrainian Orthodox Church released a November 16 letter to Patriarch Kirill after Russian media said Ukraine’s head Patriarch Filaret had asked Moscow for "forgiveness," a claim it denied.
(AFP, 12/1/17)
2017 Dec 1, Ukraine head Patriarch Filaret said the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will never return to Russia's fold, accusing Moscow of "lying."
(AFP, 12/1/17)
2017 Dec 3, In Ukraine anti-corruption campaigner Mikheil Saakashvili urged Ukrainians to set up a protest camp in Kiev's main square if parliament fails to adopt a law on presidential impeachment within a week.
(AP, 12/3/17)
2017 Dec 5, Ukrainian authorities accused former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili of plotting a coup sponsored by Russia and attempted to arrest him. Supporters of Saakashvili freed him from a police van after his detention on suspicion of assisting a criminal organization led to clashes with police in Kiev. He then led protesters towards parliament, where he called defiantly for President Petro Poroshenko to be removed from office.
(AFP, 12/5/17)(Reuters, 12/5/17)
2017 Dec 6, In Ukraine sixteen people were injured in clashes in central Kiev as police sought to arrest ex-Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili, a staunch foe of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
(AFP, 12/6/17)
2017 Dec 10, In Ukraine several thousand people marched through central Kiev to protest against the detention of opposition figure Mikheil Saakashvili and call for the impeachment of President Petro Poroshenko.
(Reuters, 12/10/17)
2017 Dec 14, The EU extended sanctions against Russia because of the stalled peace process in the Ukraine.
(SFC, 12/15/17, p.A2)
2017 Dec 17, In Ukraine about 5,000 supporters of opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili rallied in Kiev, pushing for the ouster of the nation's president and briefly attempting to seize a public building.
(AP, 12/17/17)
2017 Dec 18, The Russian foreign ministry said it was recalling officers serving at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) in Ukraine, accusing the Ukrainian side of obstructing their work and limiting access to the front line.
(AP, 12/20/17)
2017 Dec 21, The Ukrainian parliament voted to withdraw a law on the creation of an anti-corruption court, paving the way for the submission of a new law more in line with demands from backers, including the International Monetary Fund.
(AP, 12/21/17)
2017 Dec 22, The US State Department said the United States would provide Ukraine with "enhanced defensive capabilities" as Kiev battles Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.
(Reuters, 12/23/17)
2017 Dec 25, Separatist leaders and a Ukrainian government representative said in televised comments that they would exchange prisoners on December 27.
(AP, 12/25/17)
2017 Dec 27, Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels swapped hundreds of prisoners in the war-torn east of Ukraine, one of the largest such exchanges since the outbreak of an insurgency almost four years ago. The Ukrainian army reported the death of one soldier in the renewed fighting, the first casualty after the latest Christmas ceasefire came in force on December 23.
(AFP, 12/27/17)
2017 Dec 29, In Ukraine lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska went missing. Her body was found in a river on Jan. 1. She had mounted a campaign to make sure the man convicted of running down her sister with his car remained in prison. The man is a relative of a prominent Kiev judge.
(AP, 1/2/18)
2017 Dec 30, In Ukraine a man believed to be strapped with explosives took nine adults and two children hostage in a post office in the city of Kharkiv. Police soon freed the remaining hostages, and arrested the hostage taker after an hours-long standoff.
(Reuters, 12/30/17)
2017 About 8% of Ukraine’s land was reported contaminated.
(Econ 6/10/17, p.24)
2018 Jan 1, In Ukraine Iryna Nozdrovska's body was found in a river. Media reports said the 38-year-old lawyer had been stabbed repeatedly. On Jan. 8 a suspect was reported arrested in the case.
(AP, 1/8/18)
2018 Jan 11, In eastern Ukraine almost two million people lost their mobile phone access after Vodafone, the last major provider in the devastated region, suffered a fiber optic line cut. The outage meant families living on different sides of the front have lost the ability to communicate.
(AFP, 1/16/18)
2018 Jan 16, In Ukraine several hundred people rallied outside the Supreme Rada in Kiev to protest a new law governing the areas in the country's east under separatist control. they criticized the new law as being too lenient on separatist leaders.
(AP, 1/16/18)
2018 Jan 18, Ukraine's parliament passed a bill to reintegrate the country's eastern territories that are currently controlled by Russia-backed separatists, even supporting taking them back by military force if necessary.
(AP, 1/18/18)
2018 Jan 25, In central Ukraine an Mi-8 helicopter on a training mission crashed after hitting a cable supporting a TV tower. All four crew members on board died during the crash near the city of Kremenchuk.
(AP, 1/26/18)
2018 Feb 4, In Ukraine thousands of demonstrators, led by Mikheil Saakashvili, marched in Kiev to demand the resignation of President Petro Poroshenko.
(AP, 2/4/18)
2018 Feb 5, Ukrainian opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili said an appeals court has rejected his appeal for protection against possible extradition in a decision he said was politically motivated.
(Reuters, 2/5/18)
2018 Feb 12, A spokesman for Ukraine's border service said opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili has been deported to Poland.
(AP, 2/12/18)
2018 Feb 13, Ukrainian opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili said he would continue rallying people against the nation's authorities from abroad, following his deportation to Poland.
(AP, 2/13/18)
2018 Feb 14, Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili vowed to press on with his fight, as the stateless politician arrived in the Netherlands to join his family after being expelled from Ukraine.
(AFP, 2/14/18)
2018 Feb 20, It was reported that the European Union is shutting down a border checkpoint scheme with Ukraine. The 6 projects are now in the process of being closed, and the unspent money reimbursed. They foundered after a series of delays, missteps and cost overruns involving local officials and contractors.
(Reuters, 2/20/18)
2018 Mar 1, The Trump administration told Congress it plans to sell Ukraine 210 anti-tank missiles to help it defend its territory from Russia.
(SFC, 3/2/18, p.A2)
2018 Mar 2, In Moldova a one-day security conference was held in the capital, Chisinau. Pro-EU leaders from Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia said that the continued presence of Russian military in their countries was destabilizing.
(AP, 3/2/18)
2018 Mar 3, Ukrainian police and demonstrators clashed at a tent camp outside the parliament building in Kiev. Police said more than 100 people were detained and that explosives were found at the camp. Protesters have been demanding the establishment of a national an anti-corruption court and the ouster of Pres. Petro Poroshenko.
(AP, 3/3/18)
2018 Mar 3, Russia’s state natural gas monopoly Gazprom said it is beginning efforts to end its contract to supply gas to Ukraine, raising concerns about downstream gas supply to European countries. The move comes after the Stockholm international arbitration court ruled that Gazprom should pay Ukraine more than $2 billion for failure to deliver the agreed-upon volumes of so-called "transit gas".
(AP, 3/3/18)
2018 Mar 8, In Ukraine Volodymyr Ruban was apprehended at a frontline checkpoint with a collection of weapons, including machine guns and explosives. He had negotiated an exchange of prisoners in the eastern conflict zone. The next day President Petro Poroshenko said Ruban was part of a criminal network that had planned to destabilize Ukraine through violent attacks.
(Reuters, 3/9/18)
2018 Mar 12, Ukraine's intelligence agency said it has found weapons and explosives at the homes of suspected "agents of Russia".
(AP, 3/12/18)
2018 Mar 12, The European Union's foreign policy chief said the EU will extend a 1 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) loan to struggling Ukraine.
(AP, 3/12/18)
2018 Mar 12, The EU said it has prolonged sanctions against senior Russian officials, lawmakers and military officers for a further six months over alleged meddling in Ukraine.
(SFC, 3/13/18, p.A2)
2018 Mar 14, The Ukrainian government ordered its athletes not to take part in any competitions held in Russia, which the country accuses of occupying its territory.
(AP, 3/14/18)
2018 Mar 16, Ukraine said Russians living in Ukraine will be unable to vote in Russia's presidential election because access to Moscow's diplomatic missions will be blocked.
(AFP, 3/16/18)
2018 Mar 22, The Ukrainian parliament stripped celebrated former military pilot and presidential hopeful Nadiya Savchenko of her immunity as a lawmaker, sanctioning her arrest on charges of plotting an attack on parliament with grenades and automatic weapons. Savchenko said she was aware of being wiretapped, and that she talked about the attacks as a "surrealist political provocation" to mock the government.
(AP, 3/22/18)
2018 Mar 23, Ukrainian lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko began a hunger strike to protest her detention on charges of planning a coup against the government, less than two years after being welcomed home as a national hero.
(Reuters, 3/23/18)
2018 Mar 26, In Ukraine a Washington-backed body set up to vet judges as part of the battle against corruption quit its role, saying the process to screen a judge fit for office was a sham.
(Reuters, 3/26/18)
2018 Mar 26, Several EU countries and Ukraine said they are expelling Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of a former Russian double agent with military-grade nerve agent in the English town of Salisbury.
(Reuters, 3/26/18)
2018 Mar 26, Spanish authorities said police have captured a cybercrime gang made up of Ukrainians and Russians that allegedly stole more than $1.24 billion from financial institutions worldwide in a 5-year spree. Almost all of Russia's banks were said to have been targeted and about 50 of them had lost money.
(SFC, 3/27/18, p.A2)
2018 Mar 30, Russia ordered new cuts to the number of British envoys in the country, escalating a dispute with the West over the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain. Scores of foreign ambassadors streamed into the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow to receive the notices given to 23 nations: Albania, Australia, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine.
(AP, 3/30/18)
2018 Apr 10, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said sanctions will be imposed on Russian oligarchs including Oleg Deripaska, following the lead of penalties ordered by the United States.
(Reuters, 4/10/18)
2018 Apr 13, Ukraine's hard-line nationalists in Kiev vandalized a monument to Nikolai Vatutin, a Soviet Army general killed during WW II, and engaged in scuffles with army veterans and other opponents.
(AP, 4/13/18)
2018 May 1, Tennessee's Knox County held elections. Investigators later found evidence of a "malicious intrusion" into the county's elections website from a computer in Ukraine during a concerted cyberattack, which likely caused the site to crash just as it was reporting vote totals in this month's primary.
(AP, 5/11/18)
2018 May 15, Ukraine's security service raided the Kiev offices of Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency, detaining one journalist who was accused of treason.
(AFP, 5/15/18)
2018 May 15, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, driving a truck, unveiled the auto section of a new 11.8-mile, road-and-rail bridge linking Russia's Taman Peninsula to the annexed Crimea, defying Ukraine which said the move showed cynical disregard for international law.
(Reuters, 5/15/18)(SFC, 5/17/18, p.A2)
2018 May 17, Two Ukrainian soldiers killed in fighting in the separatist eastern region.
(AFP, 5/18/18)
2018 May 18, In Ukraine at least four people, including a child, were killed in the separatist east, as fighting intensified in the region.
(AFP, 5/18/18)
2018 May 30, In Ukraine Russian dissident journalist Arkady Babchenko, who was reported murdered in Kiev, dramatically reappeared alive and well in the middle of a briefing about the killing by the Ukrainian state security service. Ukraine admitted it had staged the murder of Babchenko in order to foil an attempt on his life by Russia.
(Reuters, 5/30/18)(AFP, 5/30/18)
2018 Jun 4, A Russian court sentenced a Ukrainian journalist, Roman Sushchenko (49), to 12 years in jail after convicting him of spying for his native Ukraine. Sushchenko was detained in 2016 after he flew into Moscow from Paris where he worked as a correspondent for Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.
(Reuters, 6/4/18)
2018 Jun 6, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said he had been asked to support "political corruption" or to quit after PM Volodymyr Groysman formally asked parliament to sack him.
(Reuters, 6/6/18)
2018 Jun 7, Ukraine's parliament passed a law to create a special court to try corruption cases, a key step for the government to secure more Western aid needed to tame a rising sovereign debt burden.
(Reuters, 6/7/18)
2018 Jun 14, In Ukraine a pop-up "Corruption Park" opened in Kiev to highlight the scale of the problem with interactive exhibits and displays of ill-gotten gains including a $46,000 crystal falcon.
(AP, 6/18/18)
2018 Jun 17, In Ukraine several thousand gay pride supporters held a march in Kiev that lasted about 20 minutes despite opponents' attempts to block them. Kiev police detained 56 far-right activists who tried to disrupt the gay pride march.
(AP, 6/17/18)(AFP, 6/17/18)
2018 Jun 18, The EU said it has extended restrictions on doing business with companies or officials in Ukraine's Crimea region an d the city of Sevastopol for a year over Russia's annexation of the peninsula.
(SFC, 6/19/18, p.A2)
2018 Jun 23, In western Ukraine an attack on a Roma camp left one person dead and four others injured, including a 10-year-old boy on the outskirts of Lviv. Police soon arrested seven men aged 16 and 17 suspected of carrying out the attack and a 20-year-old man suspected of organizing it.
(AP, 6/25/18)
2018 Jun 28, Fighting in eastern Ukraine killed three Ukrainian servicemen.
(Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018 Jun 29, The Ukrainian military said four Ukrainian servicemen were killed and two were wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern conflict zone over the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018 Jul 3, In Serbia Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with President Aleksandar Vucic in a bid to boost ties with the Balkan country, a key Russian ally in Europe, as both states seek to join the European Union.
(AP, 7/3/18)
2018 Jul 12, Ukraine's parliament approved an amendment to an anti-corruption court law in an effort to secure more funding under a $17.5 billion aid-for-reforms program from the International Monetary Fund.
(Reuters, 7/12/18)
2018 Jul 23, Oksana Shachko (31), one of the founders of the Femen feminist protest movement, was found dead in her Paris apartment with a suicide note next to her body. She was one of four feminist activists who founded Femen in Ukraine in 2008.
(AFP, 7/24/18)
2018 Jul 28, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko joined thousands on the streets of Kiev on an anniversary marking the start of the conversion of Ukrainians to Christianity, amid a push to remove what he says is a lever of Kremlin influence in Ukrainian affairs.
(Reuters, 7/28/18)
2018 Jul 31, The EU expanded its sanctions against Moscow to include companies that helped build a bridge from mainland Russia to Kremlin-annexed Crimea, which it says violates Ukraine's sovereignty.
(AFP, 7/31/18)
2018 Aug 2, The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said that more than 160 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine since the beginning of the year.
(AP, 8/3/18)
2018 Aug 7, The lawyer for Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, hunger striking in a Russian jail for nearly three months, said that the prisoner has lost 30 kg from his original weight of 100 kg, his heart rate has slowed and he has very low levels of red blood cells. The 42-year-old was serving a 20-year sentence in the far north of Russia after being convicted three years ago of arson attacks in his native Crimea following its annexation by Moscow. According to Kiev's estimates, Russia is currently holding around 70 Ukrainian political prisoners.
(AFP, 8/8/18)
2018 Aug 13, Poland used its powers as a European Union member to ban human rights Ukrainian activist Lyudmyla Kozlovska (32) from all 26 countries in Europe's Schengen area. Kozlovska was stopped at the Brussels Zaventem airport after arriving from Kiev, held overnight and put on an early flight back to Kiev the next morning. Belgian authorities acted after Poland entered her in the Schengen Information System, a database aimed at ensuring security in Europe's passport-free Schengen Area.
(AP, 8/20/18)
2018 Aug 15, Shipping industry sources said that some Russian shipowners not subject to sanctions have now stopped shipping to Ukraine for fear of losing their cargo. The Mekhanik Pogodin oil tanker, under the Russian flag, has detained in the port of Kherson since August 10, and prevented from offloading because its owner is on a list of sanctions imposed by Kiev.
(Reuters, 8/15/18)
2018 Aug 16, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said had it demanded a 15-year prison sentence for ousted ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, accused by Kiev of "betraying his nation" to Russia.
(AFP, 8/16/18)
2018 Aug 20, The UN's World Health Organization said the number of measles cases in Europe jumped to more than 41,000 during the first six months of 2018 and at least 37 people have died. Half, or some 23,000 cases, occurred in Ukraine.
(AP, 8/20/18)
2018 Aug 22, In Ukraine intense fighting killed four troops and injured seven in the east of the rebel-held Luhansk region. The defense ministry said the fighting erupted when the rebels began to shell government troops with mortars The rebels accused government troops of attacking them first.
(AP, 8/23/18)
2018 Aug 24, Ukraine marked 27 years of independence with its biggest ever military parade in central Kiev, as war continued against Russian-backed separatists in the country's east.
(AFP, 8/24/18)
2018 Aug 31, In Ukraine Alexander Zakharchenko (42), the chief of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, was killed in a bombing at a Donetsk cafe in broad daylight, becoming the four-year conflict's most prominent victim from the Moscow-backed side. His bodyguard also died and 12 more people were injured.
(AFP, 9/1/18)
2018 Sep 2, Tens of thousands of mourners gathered in Ukraine's rebel stronghold of Donetsk to pay their final respects to separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko, while an aide to the Russian president praised him as a "brother" and a "hero".
(AFP, 9/2/18)
2018 Sep 4, In the Ukraine Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (32) held talks with President Petro Poroshenko and afterward said "I speak not only as Chancellor but also as President of the EU Council, we need a clear reaction to the Russian aggression" in eastern Ukraine.
(AFP, 9/4/18)
2018 Sep 7, The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate said it is sending two bishops to Ukraine "within the framework of the preparations for the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine." The patriarchate's leader is considered the "first among equals" of Eastern Orthodox clerics.
(AP, 9/8/18)
2018 Sep 8, The Russian Orthodox Church denounced a decision by Orthodox Christianity's leading body to send two envoys to Ukraine as a step toward declaring ecclesiastical independence for the church there.
(AP, 9/8/18)
2018 Sep 19, In Ukraine the legislature in the Lviv region voted to "impose a moratorium on the public broadcast and use of Russian-language content" until Russia withdraws all of its troops from Ukraine.
(AP, 9/19/18)
2018 Sep 29, In Ukraine three people were injured in an explosion in the rebel stronghold Donetsk, including a candidate for the post of the self-proclaimed republic's leader. The explosion happened near the local communist party's offices as the last participants of a party congress were leaving the building.
(AFP, 9/29/18)
2018 Oct 4, Ukraine said it had given a Hungarian consul 72 hours to leave the country after accusing his consulate of illegally issuing passports to members of an ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Ukraine's constitution bars Ukrainians from holding citizenship of other countries. Hungary in turn expelled a Ukrainian consul in Budapest and reiterated a threat to block Ukraine's EU and NATO integration.
(Reuters, 10/4/18)
2018 Oct 5, Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, jailed in Russia on terrorism charges, said he had been forced to end a prolonged hunger strike because prison authorities had told him they planned to force feed him.
(Reuters, 10/5/18)
2018 Oct 9, In northern Ukraine more than 12,000 people were evacuated after ammunition stored at an arms depot began exploding early today sparking a huge fire.
(AFP, 10/9/18)
2018 Oct 18, Ukraine's parliament voted to hand over a landmark Kiev church to the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate after it agreed to recognize the independence of Ukraine's Orthodox Church. The church will be transferred to Constantinople for its permanent use free of charge, but will still be the property of Ukraine.
(AFP, 10/18/18)
2018 Oct 18, The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said it had seen weapons being transported from Russia to rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine over the last week, contradicting Moscow's claim it is not arming separatists.
(AFP, 10/18/18)
2018 Oct 22, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, in a presidential decree posted on the Kremlin's website, instructed the government to draw up a list of Ukrainian firms and individuals to be targeted for economic sanctions.
(Reuters, 10/22/18)
2018 Oct 25, The EU awarded its top human rights prize to Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker imprisoned in Russia accused of plotting acts of terrorism, calling him a symbol of all political prisoners being held there.
(AP, 10/25/18)
2018 Nov 1, The Russian government published a list of 322 individuals and 68 companies in the Ukraine who will have their assets — if they have any — frozen, in a largely symbolic gesture in the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
(AP, 11/1/18)
2018 Nov 3, In Turkey Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and the Istanbul-based Orthodox patriarch signed an accord that paves the way for the recognition of an independent Ukrainian church, a plan that has infuriated Moscow.
(AFP, 11/3/18)
2018 Nov 4, In Ukraine Kateryna Gandzyuk (33), an adviser to the mayor of the southern city of Kherson and an outspoken critic of corruption in law enforcement agencies, died following an acid attack in July. In 2019 Vladyslav Manger, the head of the regional council in the southern region of Kherson, was accused of financing the crime.
(http://tinyurl.com/y5wkvl3h)(AP, 2/11/19)
2018 Nov 11, Residents of the eastern Ukraine regions controlled by Russia-backed separatist rebels voted for local governments in elections denounced by Kiev and the West. The Donetsk region's acting head Denis Pushilin, whose predecessor was killed in an explosion in August, was confirmed as leader with 61 percent of the vote while the acting chief of Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, also won with 68 percent.
(AP, 11/11/18)(Reuters, 11/12/18)
2018 Nov 13, Angry Ukrainians took to the streets and blocked roads as hundreds of thousands remain without heating at a time when temperatures are plunging because of a dispute between the national gas company and regional utility providers. Bills for hot water and heating were expected to increase by another 15% on December 1.
(AP, 11/13/18)
2018 Nov 14, Ukraine's PM Volodymyr Groisman accused local officials of causing a crisis that has left hundreds of thousands without heating in freezing weather.
(AP, 11/14/18)
2018 Nov 15, In Ukraine unknown assailants threw petrol bombs at a historic 18th century Orthodox church in Kiev and attacked a priest early today. The petrol bombs did not explode and no damage was done to St. Andrew's church. A church spokesman blamed Moscow for the incident.
(Reuters, 11/15/18)
2018 Nov 18, In Ukraine two activists were attacked with pepper-spray in Kiev during a transgender rights march that was interrupted by dozens of far-right protesters.
(AFP, 11/18/18)
2018 Nov 25, Russia stopped three Ukrainian navy vessels from entering the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait by placing a huge cargo ship beneath a Russian-controlled bridge, with officials from both countries accusing the other of provocative behavior. A bilateral treaty gives both countries the right to use the sea, which lies between them and is linked by the narrow Kerch Strait to the Black Sea. Russian coast guards opened fire on three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait and then seized them. Three Ukrainian sailors were wounded and 24 were detained.
(Reuters, 11/25/18)(Reuters, 11/26/18)
2018 Nov 26, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko halved his proposal for martial law in the country to 30 days, an apparent concession to opponents, effective from 9 am on November 28.
(Reuters, 11/26/18)
2018 Nov 26, Ukraine's biggest state-run bank said an arbitration court in Paris has ruled that Russia must pay $1.3 billion in damages for property seized in the annexation of Crimea.
(AP, 11/26/18)
2018 Nov 27, Russia's TASS news agency reported that a court in Russian-annexed Crimea ordered the first of 24 Ukrainian navy sailors captured by Russia to be detained for two months.
(Reuters, 11/27/18)
2018 Nov 28, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed an act introducing martial law after Russia's seizure of three of Kiev's navy vessels sparked the worst crisis in years between the neighbors.
(AFP, 11/28/18)
2018 Nov 28, President Vladimir Putin insisted that Russian forces had the right to seize three Ukrainian ships at the weekend, as Kiev lashed out at Moscow for failing to release its sailors.
(AFP, 11/28/18)
2018 Nov 29, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of wanting to annex his entire country and called for NATO to deploy warships to a sea shared by the two nations. Ukrainian border guards said all non-Ukrainians will be barred from crossing into the Russia-occupied Crimean peninsula by land after martial law went into effect.
(Reuters, 11/29/18)(AP, 11/29/18)
2018 Nov 29, Ukraine's infrastructure minister, Volodymyr Omelyan, said two Ukrainian Azov Sea ports, Berdyansk and Mariupol, are effectively under blockade by Russia as vessels are being barred from leaving and entering.
(Reuters, 11/29/18)
2018 Nov 30, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said his country has received 500 million euros ($568 million) in assistance from the European Commission.
(Reuters, 11/30/18)
2018 Nov 30, Ukraine banned Russian men of combat age from entering the country, a move introduced under martial law after Russia fired on and captured three Ukrainian naval ships off Crimea last weekend.
(Reuters, 11/30/18)
2018 Nov 30, Ukraine's state security service raided the residence of a senior Russian-backed Orthodox priest, who heads one of the country's holiest sites, citing a clause in the criminal code relating to whipping up religious hatred. Metropolitan Pavel, heads the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine's most famous monasteries and a tourist site where mummified monks rest in labyrinthine underground caves.
(Reuters, 11/30/18)
2018 Nov 30, In Argentina Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly briefed his US counterpart Donald Trump on the Ukraine crisis as the leaders met briefly at a G20 summit dinner.
(AFP, 12/2/18)
2018 Dec 1, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said Russia is building up its land forces and weapons along the border as German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Russia not to block Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov.
(AP, 12/1/18)
2018 Dec 1, In Canada Oleksandr Gvozdyk (31) of Ukraine knocked out Canadian Adonis Stevenson with 13 seconds remaining in the 11th round to capture the World Boxing Council light heavyweight championship in Quebec City.
(AFP, 12/2/18)
2018 Dec 3, Ukraine's president announced a partial call-up of reservists for training amid tensions with Russia, saying that the country needs to beef up its defenses to counter the threat of a Russian invasion.
(AP, 12/3/18)
2018 Dec 3, Ukrainian police searched the homes of Russian Orthodox priests and Russian Orthodox churches in several cities, stepping up pressure as Kiev pushes for the creation of an independent Ukrainian church.
(AP, 12/3/18)
2018 Dec 4, Ukraine said it had resumed grain shipments from the Azov Sea, blocked for around 10 days after a military standoff with Russia in the Kerch Strait off Crimea.
(Reuters, 12/4/18)
2018 Dec 6, The Ukrainian parliament voted to withdraw from a wide-ranging treaty on friendship with Russia, the latest step in escalating tensions between the two neighbors.
(AP, 12/6/18)
2018 Dec 10, EU security commissioner Julian King alleged that Russia launched a year-long fake news campaign about Kiev's and NATO's plans for the Azov Sea before seizing three Ukrainian ships and their crew there.
(AFP, 12/10/18)
2018 Dec 10, The EU blacklisted nine locals involved in last month's rebel elections in east Ukraine, but was unlikely to heed swiftly Kiev's call for more reprisals against Moscow over the latest flare-up of tensions in the Azov Sea.
(Reuters, 12/10/18)
2018 Dec 15, Ukraine chose the leader of a new national church, marking an historic split from Russia which its leaders see as vital to the country's security and independence. President Petro Poroshenko said Metropolitan Epifaniy, of the Kiev Patriarchate church, had been chosen as head of the new church.
(Reuters, 12/15/18)
2018 Dec 15, A Ukrainian air force pilot died when his Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet crashed while attempting to land at a base in the northern region of Zhytomyr.
(AP, 12/15/18)
2018 Dec 15, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople welcomed the creation of an Orthodox church in Ukraine independent of Moscow and invited its leader to Istanbul to receive official confirmation of its status.
(AFP, 12/16/18)
2018 Dec 20, In Ukraine about 1,000 Orthodox believers rallied outside parliament to protest its demand that they change their church's name to reflect its ties to Moscow.
(AP, 12/20/18)
2018 Dec 21, The US State Department said the United States will provide an additional $10 million in military financing to Ukraine to bolster its navy after Russia captured three Ukrainian vessels at sea last month.
(Reuters, 12/22/18)
2018 Dec 22, Ukraine's president signed a bill that orders the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to change its name to reflect its ties to Moscow.
(AP, 12/22/18)
2018 Dec 26, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced an end to the 30-day martial law imposed after Russia seized Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea.
(AP, 12/26/18)
2018 Dec 26, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported that a Russian court has sentenced Igor Kiyashko, a Ukrainian lawyer, to eight years in a maximum security prison for espionage and trying to illegally obtain and export military goods.
(Reuters, 12/26/18)
2018 President Donald Trump inquired how long Ukraine would be able to resist Russian aggression without US assistance during a meeting with donors that included the indicted associates of his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. A video of the meeting only emerged in 2020.
(AP, 1/25/20)
2019 Jan 5, The Istanbul-based Orthodox patriarch signed the formal decree confirming the creation of an independent Ukrainian church, marking a break with the Russian church that has angered Moscow.
(AFP, 1/5/19)
2019 Jan 15, Russia extended the detention of Ukrainian sailors captured together with their vessels off Crimea in November despite protests from Kiev and the West.
(AFP, 1/15/19)
2019 Jan 15, The US Securities and Exchange Commission charged two Ukrainian men, Artem Radchenko and Oleksandr Ieremenko, with hacking into computers of the SEC to steal quarterly and annual reports of publicly traded companies before their public release. The SEC also filed civil charges against Ieremenko and five others from the US, Ukraine and Russia.
(AP, 1/15/19)
2019 Jan 18, Russia said it has agreed for France and Germany to monitor shipping traffic in the Kerch Strait following a naval confrontation between Moscow and Kiev last year.
(AFP, 1/18/19)
2019 Jan 24, A Ukrainian court sentenced former president Viktor Yanukovich in absentia to 13 years in jail on treason charges, saying his conduct in office had opened the door to Russia's annexation of Crimea and conflict in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/24/19)
2019 Jan 25, The head of Ukraine's cyber police said hackers likely controlled by Russia are stepping up efforts to disrupt Ukraine's presidential election in March with cyber-attacks on electoral servers and personal computers of election staff.
(Reuters, 1/25/19)
2019 Feb 9, In Ukraine far-right activists tried to storm a police station in Kiev after forty others were detained at a campaign event for presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko. The activists were demanding justice in the killing of an anti-corruption activist.
(AP, 2/10/19)
2019 Feb 13, Authorities in Ukraine said eight people have died of measles since the start of the year. 53,000 confirmed measles cases were confirmed last year.
(SFC, 2/14/19, p.A2)
2019 Feb 19, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko signed a constitutional amendment committing to join NATO and the European Union, acknowledging that the nation still has a long way to go to meet the membership criteria.
(AP, 2/19/19)
2019 Feb 21, Ukraine's State Security Service SBU accused Russia of meddling in the electoral process in Ukraine by creating illegal structures to help guarantee victory for a certain candidate.
(Reuters, 2/21/19)
2019 Feb 23, In Ukraine a minibus hit a landmine while crossing the border at the breakaway Donetsk region, killing two civilians and injuring a third near the village of Yelenovka. The passengers were returning to the rebel-controlled region after collecting their pensions.
(Reuters, 2/23/19)
2019 Feb 26, It was reported that Ukraine's national broadcaster has dropped singer Anna Korsun (27), who was meant to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest, due to apparent political differences over Russia.
(Reuters, 2/26/19)
2019 Mar 5, In Kiev US Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch called on Ukrainian officials to fire the special anti-corruption prosecutor, Nazar Kholodnytsky, who has been accused of helping suspects avoid corruption charges. She also called for a complete audit of a state-owned military procurement company and greater transparency for defense contracts.
(AP, 3/6/19)
2019 Mar 7, Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko promised life imprisonment for anyone found guilty in alleged military corruption that reportedly includes incumbent Petro Poroshenko.
(AP, 3/7/19)
2019 Mar 12, Ukraine's security service said it has detained an Israeli man who heads a massive global drug trafficking network that markets illegal drugs through the internet.
(Reuters, 3/12/19)
2019 Mar 12, Israeli undercover officers broke up a drug-dealing network that used a popular messaging app and had connections in the United States, Ukraine and Germany. Police said the ring was headed by Amos Dov Silver, founder of the Israeli online drug marketplace Telegrass. Silver was arrested in Ukraine early today.
(AFP, 3/12/19)
2019 Mar 13, Ukraine defended its decision to deny entry to an Austrian journalist, claiming that Austria has been too friendly to Russia.
(AP, 3/13/19)
2019 Mar 15, The EU imposed sanctions on eight more Russian officials that it says were involved in the seizure by Russia of Ukrainian ships and crew in November.
(AP, 3/15/19)
2019 Mar 16, Police in the Ukrainian city of Poltava arrested 10 people as nationalist demonstrators attempted to interrupt a campaign appearance by President Petro Poroshenko. In Kiev about 3,000 nationalists demonstrated outside the presidential administration building, demanding arrests in an alleged embezzlement scheme in Ukraine's defense industries that allegedly involves figures close to Poroshenko and a factory controlled by him.
(AP, 3/16/19)
2019 Mar 20, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko ordered new sanctions against Russian companies and individuals involved in construction and other activities in Crimea.
(SFC, 3/21/19, p.A2)
2019 Mar 22, A Russian court sentenced Pavlo Gryb (20), a Ukrainian teenager, to six years in prison for plotting a bombing in a Russian school. He was kidnapped in summer 2017 in Belarus where he had traveled to meet a girl he met online. He later surfaced in a Russian prison. The girl turned out to be an officer from the Russian intelligence services who was messaging him on her behalf shortly before his trip. Gryb's family said he suffers from cirrhosis of the liver and partial vision loss, urgently needs surgery and may die in a Russian prison.
(AP, 3/22/19)(AFP, 3/22/19)
2019 Mar 28, Ukraine's interior minister accused both Pres. Petro Poroshenko and former PM Yulia Tymoshenko of waging campaigns that involve bribing voters ahead of the March 31 presidential election.
(AP, 3/29/19)
2019 Mar 31, Voters in Ukraine cast ballots in a presidential election. Opinion polls have indicated that Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who stars in a TV sitcom about a teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral, was leading a field of 39 candidates. Police say they have received more than 1,600 complaints about electoral violations in the presidential election. Zelenskiy took 30 percent support in the vote, while President Petro Poroshenko was a distant second with about 16 percent. The top two candidates advance to a runoff on April 21.
(AP, 3/31/19)(AP, 4/1/19)
2019 Mar 31, Ukraine police seized heroin worth about $60 million, over half a ton of the powder, in raids in the country's center and west, describing it as the biggest haul they had ever seen.
(AFP, 3/31/19)
2019 Apr 3, The Ukrainian PM Volodymyr Groysman said the government has banned state-run gas producer Naftogaz from raising consumer gas prices. The ban was announced as President Petro Poroshenko, a Groysman ally, tries to boost his chances ahead of the second and final round of a presidential election on April 21.
(Reuters, 4/3/19)
2019 Apr 4, Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko agreed to go head-to-head with comedian Volodymyr Zelensky in a debate at the country's biggest stadium in the race for the presidency.
(AFP, 4/4/19)
2019 Apr 5, Russia won a dispute about "national security" at the World Trade Organization, in a ruling over a Ukrainian transit dispute because it had invoked national security. The WTO ruling, the first ever on national security, can be appealed.
(Reuters, 4/5/19)
2019 Apr 11, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced the launch of a special court to try corruption cases, part of a flurry of activity to shore up his reform credentials ahead of a presidential election run-off next week.
(Reuters, 4/11/19)
2019 Apr 13, It was reported that a Ukraine-based hacker group has posted online the personal information of hundreds of US federal agents and police officers apparently stolen from websites affiliated with alumni of the FBI's National Academy.
(AP, 4/13/19)
2019 Apr 16, Ukrainian media called on comedian Volodymyr Zelensky (41) to answer their questions ahead of a weekend presidential election he is expected to win despite minimum engagement with mainstream outlets.
(AFP, 4/16/19)
2019 Apr 17, Ukraine's security service SBU said it had captured a Russian military intelligence hit squad responsible for the attempted murder of a Ukrainian military spy in the run-up to a presidential election on April 21. Two of the group's members were said to be Russian citizens, the other six were Ukrainians.
(Reuters, 4/17/19)
2019 Apr 18, A Ukrainian court ruled that the 2016 nationalization of Privatbank owned by tycoon Ihor Kolomoyskyi was illegal, sending shockwaves through the country's financial community. Kolomoyskyi, who now lives in Israel, is an archrival of incumbent President Poroshenko and is believed to have ties to Volomyr Zelenskiy, a comedian who has emerged as the favorite in the current presidential race.
(AP, 4/18/19)
2019 Apr 21, Ukrainians cast ballots in a presidential runoff. Opinion surveys ahead of the election showed President Petro Poroshenko (53) trailing far behind comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy (41). Zelenskiy won 73% of the vote compared to incumbent President Petro Poroshenko's 24%. Zelenskiy, a Russian speaker from central Ukraine, vowed to step up efforts to bring the east back under Kiev's wing, but offered no details on what that entailed.
(AP, 4/21/19)(AP, 4/22/19)
2019 Apr 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order simplifying the procedure for obtaining a Russian passport for residents of separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, prompting an angry response from Kiev. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin denounced the Russian move.
(Reuters, 4/24/19)
2019 Apr 25, Ukraine's parliament approved a controversial law to enhance the status of the Ukrainian language at the expense of Russian. Russia slammed the move as "scandalous." The law was championed by outgoing President Petro Poroshenko.
(AFP, 4/25/19)(Reuters, 4/25/19)
2019 Apr 25, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was ready to restore full relations with Kiev, after a political novice won the Ukraine presidential election.
(AFP, 4/25/19)
2019 Apr 26, Separatist officials in rebel-held eastern Ukraine said a methane blast at a coal mine has killed at least four people and 13 others are believed to be missing. The death toll soon rose to 17.
(AP, 4/26/19)(SFC, 4/29/19, p.A2)
2019 May 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree fast-tracking Russian citizenship for more Ukrainians, a controversial new move expected to deepen the crisis between the two countries.
(AFP, 5/1/19)
2019 May 17, Ukraine's ruling parliamentary coalition collapsed in what represents a setback for the president-elect's plans to hold early elections.
(AP, 5/17/19)
2019 May 21, Ukraine’s new Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy formally ordered the parliament to dissolve, saying that it lacks public trust. He has called for electing the new parliament entirely on party lists, arguing the current election system foments corruption.
(AP, 5/22/19)
2019 May 22, Ukraine’s parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy told lawmakers that Pres. Zelenskiy's decree to call snap elections runs against the law. Parliament also declined to even discuss Zelenskiy's amendments aimed at making elections more transparent.
(AP, 5/22/19)
2019 May 25, A UN maritime tribunal ruled that Russia must immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels captured by Russia in November and also free the 24 sailors it detained.
(AP, 5/25/19)
2019 May 27, In Ukraine dozens of inmates in a prison rioted, set a fire and took guards and nurses hostage in an hours-long standoff in Odessa that left four guards injured.
(AP, 5/27/19)
2019 May 27, Russia rebuffed a call by an international maritime tribunal for it to release 24 Ukrainian sailors, saying the court had no jurisdiction over the strait where Russian security forces captured them on Nov. 25, 2018.
(Reuters, 5/27/19)
2019 May 28, Ukraine Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree that gave citizenship back to Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia.
(SFC, 5/29/19, p.A2)
2019 May 29, A Ukrainian Soviet-designed military helicopter Mi-8 crashed late today in western Ukraine, killing all four crew members.
(Reuters, 5/30/19)
2019 May 30, Ukrainian lawmakers refused to accept the Cabinet's resignation in another snub to the nation's newly sworn-in Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
(AP, 5/30/19)
2019 May 31, In Ukraine two patrol officers were drinking together in a yard in the city of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, 70 km (40 miles) southwest of Kiev. While shooting at metal cans they hit a boy, Kyrylo Tlyavov (5), who died on June 3. The two officers were soon arrested.
(AFP, 6/4/19)
2019 Jun 18, The United States announced a $250 million military aid package for war-torn Ukraine to strengthen the former Soviet republic's naval and land capabilities.
(AFP, 6/18/19)
2019 Jun 19, Dutch-led int'l. team charged three Russians (Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov) and one Ukrainian (Leonid Kharchenko) with murder over the 2014 shooting down of flight MH17 above rebel-held eastern Ukraine in which 298 people were killed.
(AFP, 6/19/19)
2019 Jun 20, Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad rejected the implication that Russia may have been involved in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, after international prosecutors charged with murder four men in the July 17, 2014, missile attack that killed all 298 people aboard.
(AP, 6/20/19)
2019 Jun 23, In Ukraine troops in military uniform joined more than 8,000 people marching in Kiev's Gay Pride parade amid tight security, the biggest ever annual celebration of diversity in ex-Soviet Ukraine.
(AFP, 6/23/19)
2019 Jun 25, The Council of Europe voted 118-62 to readmit Russia early today, five years after suspension over Crimea. The decision was supported by France and Germany as a way of keeping communication open at a time of East-West tension.
(Reuters, 6/25/19)
2019 Jun 25, Ukraine expressed anger at its Western partners after lawmakers at the Council of Europe agreed to allow Russian representatives back following a five year absence prompted by Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
(AFP, 6/25/19)
2019 Jul 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin had his first phone call with Ukraine's new president and discussions centered on the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has bitterly blighted relations between the two countries.
(AP, 7/12/19)
2019 Jul 17, Ukraine said a rebel who organized the trailer carrying the missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 in 2014 had been captured two years ago and was now serving a sentence in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 7/17/19)
2019 Jul 18, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordered an overhaul of the process for granting Ukrainian citizenship, in response to a Russian decree expanding the number of Ukrainians who can apply for fast-track Russian passports.
(Reuters, 7/18/19)
2019 Jul 19, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in televised comments that Ukraine could release journalist Kirill Vyshinskiy, who has been in jail for a year on treason charges, if Russia releases film director Oleg Sentsov from a Russian prison colony. Sentsov is serving 20 years in a Russian prison for allegedly plotting acts of terrorism.
(AP, 7/19/19)
2019 Jul 21, Ukraine held snap general elections. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Servant of the People party won a commanding majority in the national parliament. SP took 43% of the party-list vote, giving the party 254 of the 424 MPs overall.
(Reuters, 7/21/19)(SFC, 7/24/19, p.A2)(Econ, 7/27/19, p.41)
2019 Jul 25, Ukraine seized a Russian tanker for its alleged involvement in the capture of three Ukrainian navy vessels by Russia. Ten crew members were soon freed and were on their way home, but the tanker remained in Ukrainian custody in the Danube river port of Izmail.
(Reuters, 7/25/19)
2019 Jul 25, President Donald Trump reportedly pressed the Ukrainian president in a telephone call to investigate former VP Joe Biden’s son. This information was only made public in September as part of a whistle-blower complaint.
(NY Times, 9/21/19)
2019 Jul 25, White House officials requested that aid to Ukraine be held within 90 minutes of President Donald Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. This was made public in December according to newly obtained documents.
(Good Morning America, 12/22/19)
2019 Aug 6, In Ukraine enemy shelling killed four Ukrainian soldiers in the eastern Donbass region.
(Reuters, 8/6/19)
2019 Aug 7, Ukraine's new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge him to help halt fighting in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 8/7/19)
2019 Aug 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree offering citizenship to Russians suffering political persecution, and also to foreigners who fought on Kiev's side in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 8/13/19)
2019 Aug 17, In Ukraine a fire at the Tokyo Star hotel in the port city of Odessa killed eight people.
(SFC, 8/18/19, p.A4)
2019 Aug 22, Ukraine's president backed leading European powers in opposing the readmission of Russia to the Group of Seven advanced economies, saying Moscow still occupied Crimea and was frustrating peace in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 8/22/19)
2019 Aug 28, A court in Ukraine ordered the release from pre-trial detention of Russian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky, amid signs the two countries are preparing a wider exchange of detainees.
(AP, 8/28/19)
2019 Aug, A book by John Bolton, published in 2020, contains an account of Pres. Trump telling Bolton that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations of political rivals. The New York Times reported this on Jan. 26, 2020, with the matter at the heart of the articles of impeachment against Pres. Trump.
(NY Times, 1/28/20)
2019 Sep 7, A long-awaited swap of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine began with 70 people involved in the landmark exchange. They reportedly included the 24 Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia last year.
(The Telegraph, 9/7/19)
2019 Sep 11, Police in Ukraine raided the headquarters of PrivatBank, the country's largest lender, after a court allowed them to do so as part of a criminal investigation into whether some of its officials had overstepped their authority.
(Reuters, 9/11/19)
2019 Sep 27, In Ukraine Oleksandr Danylyuk, a popular reformer, resigned as head of the National Defense and Security Council. An International Monetary Fund mission left Kiev without the preliminary deal for $5 billion of funding that the government had sought.
(Bloomberg, 9/27/19)
2019 Sep 27, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau said it was investigating activity at Burisma, a gas company, between 2010-2012, but that it was not looking into changes to its board in 2014 when Hunter Biden joined. Hunter Biden was a director on Burisma's board from 2014 until at least 2018. Mykola Azarov, former prime minister 2010-2014, said Ukraine must investigate the activities of Joe Biden's son to establish whether his role in the gas company complied with the country's laws.
(Reuters, 9/27/19)
2019 Oct 1, Negotiators meeting in the Belarusian capital of Minsk agreed on a schedule under which elections will be held in the breakaway regions of Ukraine and a new law will be passed granting them special status. The plan was proposed by Frank-Walter Steinmeier when he was Germany’s foreign minister and is known as the Steinmeier formula.
(Bloomberg, 10/2/19)
2019 Oct 4, Ukraine's Prosecutor General said that his office is reviewing several cases related to the owner of a gas company where former Vice President Joe Biden's son sat on the board, as part of a review of all the criminal cases closed by his predecessors.
(AP, 10/4/19)
2019 Oct 6, In Ukraine about 10,000 people including former president Petro Poroshenko gathered in central Kiev to protest a plan for broader autonomy for separatist territories ahead of a high-stakes summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
(AFP, 10/6/19)
2019 Oct 9, A much-anticipated pullback of heavy weaponry in eastern Ukraine was derailed after both sides traded accusations of breaking the cease-fire.
(AP, 10/9/19)
2019 Oct 10, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened to call off a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin if all sides do not agree on plans to pull out troops from the east.
(AP, 10/10/19)
2019 Oct 10, Ukraine's president insisted that he faced "no blackmail" from President Donald Trump in their phone call that led to an impeachment inquiry, distancing himself from the US political drama and trying to claw back his own credibility.
(AP, 10/10/19)
2019 Oct 11, Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch told House impeachment investigators that Pres. Trump had pressured the State Department to oust her from her post and get her out of the country.
(SFC, 10/12/19, p.A6)
2019 Oct 17, White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters that Trump's decision to withhold $391 million in aid to Ukraine was linked to his desire for an investigation by Kiev into a debunked theory that a Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer server was held in Ukraine. The comments, which he later sought to walk back, seemed to undermine the core arguments that Trump and his advisers have made against the effort to oust him from office.
(Reuters, 10/18/19)
2019 Oct 22, Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine said they had sentenced a journalist to 15 years in prison after a court found him guilty of spying on behalf of Ukraine's SBU intelligence service. Stanislav Aseyev (30) disappeared in Ukraine's Donetsk region in June 2017 where he was working under a pen name for the Ukrainian service of US-government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), among other outlets.
(Reuters, 10/22/19)
2019 Oct 23, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky urged a group of lawmakers to take lie detector tests to show they are not involved in a widening corruption scandal.
(SFC, 10/24/19, p.A2)
2019 Oct 24, Ukraine's central bank lowered its main interest rate for the fourth time this year to 15.5% from 16.5%, a steeper than expected cut, saying price pressures were easing more rapidly while economic growth was picking up.
(Reuters, 10/24/19)
2019 Oct 29, The Ukrainian army and Moscow-backed separatists said they had begun to withdraw their troops from a key area in the war-torn east ahead of a high-stakes summit with Russia.
(AFP, 10/29/19)
2019 Oct 30, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed a pullback by the Ukrainian army and Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, but reiterated calls for Russia to "withdraw all their troops".
(AFP, 10/30/19)
2019 Oct 31, Ukraine's parliament approved a bill that criminalizes state officials illegally enriching themselves. Ukraine had passed a law criminalizing illicit enrichment in 2015 but the constitutional court overturned the law in February.
(Reuters, 10/31/19)
2019 Oct 31, Ukraine and NATO issued a joint statement committing to uphold minority rights in Ukraine, a step welcomed by the Hungarian authorities who had threatened to block Kiev's NATO membership over the issue.
(Reuters, 10/31/19)
2019 Oct, In Ukraine Ruslan Zakharov had been shuttling people and goods across the front line for five years when he was stopped at a checkpoint leaving the separatist-held area and told he was a Ukrainian spy. He was tortured for three days at Izolyatsia and then transferred to a detention center ten days later where he began to recover. Victims of torture later sued both Russia and Ukraine at the European Court of Human Rights as their tormentors remained out of reach for Ukrainian law enforcement.
(The Telegraph, 6/6/21)
2019 Nov 4, Ukrainian soldiers and Moscow-backed separatists deferred the last phase of a troop pullback in war-torn eastern Ukraine at the 11th hour, delaying a high-stakes summit with Russia.
(AFP, 11/4/19)
2019 Nov 8, The United Nations' highest court ruled that it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Ukraine that alleges Russia breached treaties on terrorist financing and racial discrimination following its annexation of Crimea by arming rebels in eastern Ukraine and reining in the rights of ethnic Tartars and other minorities.
(AP, 11/8/19)
2019 Nov 9, Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels began withdrawing from a village in the disputed Donbass region, one of a series of measures that could pave the way for a summit between Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany.
(Reuters, 11/9/19)
2019 Nov 10, Poland released Ihor Mazur, a Ukrainian activist and veteran of the war in the country's east. He had been detained in Poland two days earlier based on an Interpol request issued by Russia. Mazur was on Russia's wanted list for reportedly participating in battles against Russian forces during the first war in Chechnya.
(AP, 11/10/19)
2019 Nov 11, It was reported that two political supporters of US Energy Secretary Rick Perry secured a potentially lucrative oil and gas exploration deal from the Ukrainian government earlier this year soon after Perry proposed one of the men as an adviser to the country's new president.
(AP, 11/11/19)
2019 Nov 11, It was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that Ukraine should give its separatist-led Donbass region a special status set out in Ukrainian law.
(Reuters, 11/11/19)
2019 Nov 13, Ukrainian lawmakers voted to remove a ban on the sale of farmland for the first time in nearly two decades, a move supported by the country's foreign backers that risks a political backlash.
(Reuters, 11/13/19)
2019 Nov 15, Ukraine's security service said it had detained Al Bara Shishani (aka Cezar Tokhosashvili), the deputy of Abu Omar al-Shishani, a man the Pentagon described as Islamic State's "minister of war." Al Bara Shishani, the former commander of the so-called Islamic State and deputy head of its intelligence operations, had crossed into Ukraine on a fake passport last year. He had been presumed dead for more than a year.
(AP, 11/15/19)(The Daily Beast, 12/29/19)
2019 Nov 17, Russian news said Russia will return three captured naval ships to Ukraine on Nov. 18 and is moving them to a handover location agreed with Kiev.
(Reuters, 11/17/19)
2019 Nov 18, Russia returned three Ukrainian naval ships that were seized by Russia nearly a year ago. The two gunboats and a tug were taken by the Russian coast guard on Nov. 25, 2018, as they maneuvered near the Kerch Strait that connects the Black Sea with the Azov Sea.
(AP, 11/18/19)
2019 Nov 20, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unveiled a rebuilt bridge that was blown up in Stanytsia Luhanska in 2015, among several confidence-building measures before a summit next month meant to end a conflict with Russian-backed separatist forces.
(Reuters, 11/20/19)
2019 Nov 21, Ukraine's navy said three Ukrainian navy boats seized by Russia a year ago were vandalized before being handed back to Ukraine. Ukraine's navy said the vessels had been stripped bare and left so badly damaged that they had to be towed home by tug.
(AP, 11/21/19)
2019 Dec 4, Hungary's foreign minister said Budapest would block Ukraine's membership in NATO until Kiev restored the rights that ethnic Hungarians had before a language law curbed minorities' access to education in their mother tongues.
(Reuters, 12/4/19)
2019 Dec 8, Some 5,000 Ukrainians rallied in Kiev warning President Volodymyr Zelensky to resist pressure from Russia's Vladimir Putin when the two men meet on Dec. 9 for talks on the conflict in Ukraine's east.
(AFP, 12/8/19)
2019 Dec 9, In France the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France met in Paris to discuss a peace settlement for Ukraine’s war-ravaged east for the first time in more than three years. Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy made clear at the talks that Ukraine must regain control of its eastern border before elections can take place in the disputed region as part of a peace accord. Russia's Pres. Putin said the elections must come first. Participating leaders agreed to implement a comprehensive ceasefire and hold a major prisoner exchange between the Ukrainian government and the separatists.
(The Telegraph, 12/9/19)(Bloomberg, 12/10/19)(The Telegraph, 12/10/19)
2019 Dec 9, Russia's interior minister said passports have been issued to 125,000 residents of rebel-held eastern Ukraine, deepening Moscow's ties with the separatist region even as it begins talks with Kiev aimed at ending the conflict.
(Reuters, 12/9/19)
2019 Dec 12, Ukrainian lawmakers extended a law offering special status to separatist-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine in accordance with agreements brokered by France and Germany.
(AP, 12/12/19)
2019 Dec 25, Ukrainian officials opened a criminal probe after a passenger train from Russia arrived in Crimea via a new Russian-built bridge, arguing that the train illegally carried people across the Ukrainian border.
(AP, 12/25/19)
2019 Dec 27, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview broadcast on Russian state television that Russia and Ukraine are withdrawing all of their lawsuits against each other after they agreed on a gas transit deal last week.
(The Telegraph, 12/27/19)
2019 Dec 29, Ukraine and two breakaway regions supported by the Kremlin exchanged prisoners under an agreement reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month as the former allies seek an end to more than five years of war in the Donbas area. Ukraine received 76 captives from the Russian-backed rebels. Ukraine returned 127 captives to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics.
(AP, 12/29/19)
2019 China leapfrogged Russia to become Ukraine's biggest single trading partner.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2020 Jan 8, In Iran everyone aboard the Boeing 737-800 flown by Ukraine International Airlines was killed after it came down shortly after it departed from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. 63 Canadians were killed in the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. There were three British people on board, as well as citizens from six other countries.
(The Telegraph, 1/8/20)(AFP, 1/8/20)
2020 Jan 9, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a day of national mourning, promising to find the "truth" about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran which killed all 176 on board.
(AFP, 1/9/20)
2020 Jan 10, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US believes it is "likely" Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed this week in Iran, killing all 176 on board.
(AP, 1/10/20)
2020 Jan 11, Iran's Revolutionary Guard acknowledged that it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 people aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations and mounting evidence that it was responsible. Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator who fired on the plane did so independently because of communications "jamming".
(AP, 1/11/20)(AFP, 1/11/20)
2020 Jan 16, Ukrainian police said they have opened an investigation into the possibility that US ambassador Marie Yovanovitch came under illegal surveillance by an unknown party before she was recalled from her post in May.
(AP, 1/16/20)
2020 Jan 16, The US Government Accountability Office said in a report that the White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of President Donald Trump's impeachment.
(AP, 1/16/20)
2020 Jan 17, Ukraine PM Oleksiy Honcharuk tendered his resignation after he was heard on a leaked recording criticizing his boss’s grasp of the economy. The move was seen as a formality and a pledge of loyalty. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected the offer.
(Bloomberg, 1/17/20)(SFC, 1/18/20, p.A2)
2020 Jan 19, Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 10 wounded this weekend in the eastern Donbass region.
(AP, 1/20/20)
2020 Jan 20, The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said Ukraine has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5 bird flu on a farm in the west-central part of the country, the first of such outbreak in nearly three years. The outbreak killed 4,856 birds out of a flock of 98,000 in Vinnitsa. The rest of the flock was slaughtered.
(Reuters, 1/20/20)
2020 Feb 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked Pope Francis for help to win the release of prisoners of war held by Russia and Russian-backed separatists.
(Reuters, 2/8/20)
2020 Feb 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he plans to hold local elections across the country, including in breakaway areas in eastern Ukraine. He said the polls, set for October, must be held under Ukrainian law.
(Bloomberg, 2/15/20)
2020 Mar 17, Ukrainian shops, restaurants and transport shut down as the country tightened restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Police arrested five people suspected of trying to rob 100,000 surgical masks at gunpoint in Kiev.
(AP, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 21, Ukraine further restricted the use of public transport in its capital Kiev as it battles to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Ukraine has reported 41 cases of the virus and three deaths.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Apr 1, Ukraine asked Elon Musk via Twitter to send it ventilators after the billionaire chief executive of Tesla Inc offered to ship them across the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 3, Ukraine's government imposed a series of new restrictions designed to prevent the coronavirus outbreak spreading widely but said it hoped to soften the measures again in late April. Ukraine reported 138 new cases of the coronavirus over the past day, taking the total number of infected people to 942 with 23 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 6, Emergency teams in Ukraine continued battling a forest fire in the contaminated area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. A man (27) said he burned grass “for fun" and then failed to extinguish the fire when the wind caused it to expand quickly. The blaze had spread to about 250 acres and was within the 1000-square-mile Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
(AP, 4/6/20)(SFC, 4/6/20, p.A2)
2020 Apr 9, The coronavirus has killed at least 57 people in Ukraine and the authorities aim to contain the spread of the disease in the run-up to Easter. Kiev and its surrounding region have 430 out of a total of 1,892 cases. The coronavirus has infected 26 people at the thousand-year-old headquarters of Ukraine's Russian-backed Orthodox Christian denomination, which had urged worshippers to defy lockdown orders.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 13, Ukraine's parliament approved a revised budget for 2020 drafted by the government to deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus epidemic.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 14, Ukraine said it had detained a security service general, Valery Shaitanov, on accusations of treason and working for Russia as a spy. The SBU security service said he had planned "terrorist acts" in Ukraine in exchange for $200,000 and a Russian passport.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Ukrainian emergency officials said they have extinguished forest fires in the radiation-contaminated area near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but acknowledged that grass was still smoldering in some areas.
(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 16, Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine began a prisoner exchange. Ukraine took back 20 prisoners and in exchange for 14 rebels.
(AP, 4/16/20)(SFC, 4/17/20, p.A2)
2020 Apr 24, Mikheil Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s president from 2004-2013, told reporters that he has accepted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's offer to become a deputy prime minister in charge of reforms. Zelenskiy had specifically asked him to conduct talks with the International Monetary Fund. The job offer to Saakashvili angered the government of Georgia led by his political foes.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 30, Ukraine reached 10,000 coronavirus cases and its health minister urged people not to violate lockdown measures. Cherkasy mayor Anatoliy Bondarenko decided to open shops, hairdressers and restaurants after appeals from businesses. His decision prompted police to launch criminal proceedings against the Cherkasy authorities and summon the mayor for questioning.
(Reuters, 4/30/20)(AP, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Ukraine has recorded 12,697 coronavirus cases, including 316 deaths.
(AP, 5/5/20)
2020 May 26, In Ukraine an attempted assassination of an alleged Montenegrin drug kingpin on a Kiev, Ukraine, street went sideways as two gunmen lit themselves on fire while trying to destroy evidence during their escape. Radoje Zvicer, a man believed to be a key member of a Montenegrin cocaine trafficking gang, was wounded in the attack. Five people were arrested.
(Business Insider, 5/27/20)
2020 Jun 15, Ukraine resumed flights to countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, India, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, relaxing a ban in place since March 17. Ukraine's own caseload has spiked in recent days to nearly 32,000 following a decision in May to resume public transportation and reopen of malls and gyms.
(AP, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 16, Ukraine received more than $60 million worth of weapons and other equipment from the US as part of a security aid program.
(SFC, 6/18/20, p.A2)
2020 Jul 2, Sweden said that Iran has agreed to compensate the families of victims who were killed when a Ukrainian airliner was shot down by Iranian forces outside Tehran on January 8.
(AP, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 8, It was reported that Ukraine's security service has detained a suspected Russian agent who was allegedly planning to blow up an ammonia tank in the country’s war-torn east.
(The Telegraph, 7/8/20)
2020 Jul 21, In northwestern Ukraine an armed man seized a long-distance bus and took people in it hostage launching an hours-long standoff with police. Maksim Krivosh (44), a Ukrainian born in Russia, seized the bus with 13 people. Krivosh released the hostages shortly after Pres. Zelenskiy urged Ukrainians to watch “Earthlings," a 2005 American documentary exposing humanity’s cruel exploitation of animals.
(AP, 7/21/20)(AP, 7/22/20)
2020 Jul 22, It was reported that the United States Secret Service and United States Department of State is offering up to $2 million for information leading to the arrests or convictions of Artem Radchenko and Oleksandr Ieremenko, both Ukrainian nationals. The two allegedly hacked into the SEC system in 2016 that companies use to make their filings public known as Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, or EDGAR.
(ABC News, 7/22/20)
2020 Aug 12, Ukraine recorded a record daily jump of 1,592 coronavirus cases. The total number of cases rose to 86,140, including 1,992 deaths.
(Reuters, 8/12/20)
2020 Aug 22, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged people to act on health advice on after official data showed daily COVID-19 infections had risen to a record level. The country saw 2,328 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 37 deaths of people having tested positive for the virus. Total cases rose to 102,971. The death toll has risen to 2,244.
(Reuters, 8/22/20)
2020 Aug 28, Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) convicted Oleksandr Levkivsky, a regional forestry official, for taking a $10,000 kickback to let out public land.
(Econ., 9/26/20, p.56)
2020 Aug 29, Ukraine registered a record 2,481 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from 2,438 in the previous day. The country has so far reported a total of 116,987 infections and 2,492 deaths from the virus.
(Reuters, 8/29/20)
2020 Sep 1, Ukraine reported 2,088 new coronavirus cases. PM Denys Shmygal said the number of new cases in Ukraine will continue to rise in September and could reach 3,000 a day by the end of this month. The country has reported a total of 123,303 infections and 2,605 deaths from the virus.
(AP, 9/1/20)
2020 Sep 2, Ukraine registered a record 2,495 new coronavirus cases and 51 related deaths in the past 24 hours. The country has so far reported a total of 125,798 infections and 2,656 deaths.
(Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020 Sep 8, Ukraine registered a record 57 deaths related to the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 54 deaths registered last week. A total of 140,479 cases were registered in Ukraine as of Sept. 8, with 2,934 deaths.
(AP, 9/8/20)
2020 Sep 11, Ukraine registered a record daily high of 3,144 new cases of the novel coronavirus, topping a previous record of 2,836 on Sept. 5. Ukraine had 148,756 registered cases with 3,076 deaths.
(Reuters, 9/11/20)
2020 Sep 15, Ukraine registered a record 76 deaths related to the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from a record of 72 deaths registered last week.
(Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020 Sep 17, Ukraine strongly warned thousands of Hasidic Jewish pilgrims who have been stuck on its border for days that it won't allow them into the country due to coronavirus restrictions. About 2,000 people have gathered at the border with Belarus, in hope of traveling to the Ukrainian city of Uman to visit the grave of Hasidic rabbi Nachman of Breslov (d.1810).
(AP, 9/17/20)
2020 Sep 25, A Ukrainian military aircraft, carrying a crew of seven and 20 cadets of a military aviation school, crashed while coming in for landing at the airport in Chuhuiv. Two people initially survived the crash, but one later died in a hospital.
(AP, 9/26/20)
2020 Sep 26, Ukraine registered a record 3,833 cases of new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 3,584 new cases reported on Sept. 17.
(Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020 Sep 30, Ukraine said it has registered a record 4,027 cases of new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 3,833 new cases reported on Sept. 26. A total of 208,959 cases were registered as of today, with 4,129 deaths.
(Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020 Sep 30, In Ukraine an American woman who worked for the United States Embassy in Kyiv was found unconscious with a head injury near the railway tracks in a park not far from the embassy. She died in a hospital later in the day. Police were investigating the death as a murder but at the same time had not ruled out an accident.
(AP, 10/1/20)
2020 Oct 5, Ukraine reported 3,774 new coronavirus cases. A total of 226,462 cases had been registered in Ukraine with 4,397 deaths.
(Reuters, 10/5/20)
2020 Oct 8, Ukraine registered a record 5,397 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from the previous record of 4,753 new cases reported a day earlier. The country's health minister warned that Ukraine's medical system could break down because of a surge in new coronavirus cases and the number of hospitalized people.
(Reuters, 10/8/20)
2020 Oct 10, Ukraine's national security council said a total of 256,266 coronavirus cases had been registered in Ukraine as of today, with 4,887 deaths. Daily virus deaths exceeded 100 for the first time since the epidemic began, jumping to 108.
(AP, 10/10/20)
2020 Oct 17, Ukraine registered a record 6,410 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 5,992 reported a day earlier. 109 patients had died in the past 24 hours, the highest daily toll since the start of the pandemic. A total of 293,641 cases had been registered in Ukraine as of today, with 5,517 deaths.
(Reuters, 10/17/20)
2020 Oct 19, Ukraine said its total number of coronavirus cases has reached 303,638, while the death toll is at 5,673. Ukraine registered 4,766 new cases in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 10/19/20)
2020 Oct 20, In Ukraine the number of daily coronavirus deaths jumped to 113 from the previous record of 109 deaths registered last week. A total of 309,107 cases had been registered in Ukraine as of today, with 5,786 deaths.
(Reuters, 10/20/20)
2020 Oct 21, In Ukraine the number of daily coronavirus deaths jumped to 141 from the previous record of 113 deaths registered a day earlier. A record 6,719 new coronavirus cases were registered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 315,826 cases with 5,927 deaths.
(Reuters, 10/21/20)
2020 Oct 22, Ukraine registered a daily record of 7,053 COVID-19 cases, up from a previous record of 6,719 a day earlier. The total number of cases climbed to 322,879. 116 new coronavirus-related deaths were registered in the past day.
(Reuters, 10/22/20)
2020 Oct 23, Ukraine registered a daily record of 7,517 COVID-19 cases. The total number of cases climbed to 330,396.
(Reuters, 10/23/20)
2020 Oct 25, Ukrainians voting in local elections that are considered a test for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
(AP, 10/25/20)
2020 Oct 27, Ukraine's constitutional court struck down the anti-corruption authorities' power to punish anyone for lying to it. Four of the court's 18 justices were being investigated by those same authorities.
(Econ., 11/14/20, p.48)
2020 Nov 3, Ukraine's health minister Maksym Stepanov said the situation with the coronavirus in Ukraine is close to catastrophic and the nation must prepare for the worst. Ukraine registered a record 8,899 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. Total infections stood at 411,093 with 7,532 deaths.
(Reuters, 11/3/20)
2020 Nov 4, Ukraine registered a record 9,524 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, a day after its minister described the situation in the country as verging on catastrophic.
(Reuters, 11/4/20)
2020 Nov 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be working in self-isolation while being treated.
(AP, 11/9/20)
2020 Nov 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's cabinet voted to impose a national lockdown at weekends from Nov. 14-30 to strengthen steps to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
(AP, 11/11/20)
2020 Nov 13, Ukraine registered a record 11,787 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. new cases TOOK the total confirmed infections to 512,652, with 9,317 deaths.
(Reuters, 11/13/20)
2020 Nov 20, Ukraine reported 14,575 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours. Total cases climbed to 598,085, with 10,598 deaths. Ukraine said it hoped to receive 8 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in the first half of next year.
(AP, 11/20/20)
2020 Nov 26, Ukraine said it is seeking a $100 million loan from the World Bank to buy doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, as the number of new infections in the country hit a daily record high. Ukraine has registered 677,189 coronavirus cases, with 11,717 deaths.
(Reuters, 11/26/20)
2020 Nov 28, In Ukraine the total number of novel coronavirus cases climbed to 709,701 as it registered a record daily tally of 16,294 new infections in the past 24 hours. 184 patients died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 12,093.
(Reuters, 11/28/20)
2020 Dec 11, Ukraine reported 13,514 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 872,228 cases with 14,755 deaths.
(AP, 12/11/20)
2020 Dec 18, Ukrainian state security service SBU said the country is facing almost daily hacker attacks on its government resources and intends to sharply strengthen its cyber security.
(Reuters, 12/18/20)
2020 Dec 30, Ukraine's presidential office said it has signed contract to buy 1.8 million doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, with the shots expected in "the shortest possible time".
(Reuters, 12/30/20)
2021 Jan 5, Ukrainian officials said they have seized about 1 metric ton (1.1 tons) of heroin that smugglers intended to take into European Union countries and that four Turkish citizens have been detained in the case. The heroin originated in Pakistan and came into the country via the Black Sea port of Odesa.
(AP, 1/6/21)
2021 Jan 6, Some Ukrainian media outlets reported that a clinic in Kyiv had begun inoculating people, probably with the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, at a charge of up to 3,000 euros ($3,683) per dose. Ukraine has yet to approve any of the newly developed vaccines.
(Reuters, 1/6/21)
2021 Jan 8, Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Sweden and Ukraine said they want Tehran “to provide a complete and thorough explanation of the events and decisions that led to this appalling plane crash," on the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crash.
(AP, 1/8/21)
2021 Jan 14, Europe’s top human rights court (ECHR) agreed to look into Ukraine’s complaint against alleged human rights violations in the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
(AP, 1/14/20)
2021 Jan 21, In Ukraine a fire at a private nursing home in the city of Kharkiv killed 15 people and injured five others.
(AP, 1/21/21)
2021 Jan 31, It was reported that Russia has begun supplying its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine to the rebel-controlled region of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine despite a ban by Kyiv.
(Reuters, 1/31/21)
2021 Feb 3, Ukraine said it has shut several television channels owned by Russia-linked magnate Viktor Medvedchuk in what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as a necessary move to fight Kremlin propaganda.
(AP, 2/3/21)
2021 Feb 4, In Ukraine three coronavirus patients and a doctor died in a fire at a hospital in Zaporizhzhia.
(AP, 2/4/21)
2021 Feb 11, Pfizer filed a registration application for the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in Ukraine. Authorities there have said the country expects to receive its first batch of 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in February within the framework of the COVAX program.
(Reuters, 2/11/21)
2021 Feb 11, The EU and the World Health Organization said they would spend 40 million euros ($48.48 million) over three years to ensure better access to COVID-19 vaccines in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/11/21)
2021 Feb 16, The Ukrainian health minister said that Kyiv's vaccine purchases were being hampered by "dirty information attacks" that had triggered a corruption investigation against his ministry.
(Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021 Feb 19, Ukraine’s national security council placed sanctions on Viktor Medvedchuk, a politician and tycoon who is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, freezing his assets for three years and preventing him from doing business in the country.
(AP, 2/20/21)
2021 Feb 22, Ukraine accused unnamed Russian internet networks of massive attacks on Ukrainian security and defence websites, but gave no details of any damage done or say who it believed was behind the assault.
(Reuters, 2/22/21)
2021 Feb 23, Ukraine received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccine, a consignment of 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, raising hopes that authorities can start beating back the virus' spread in a country where cases have strained the fragile health care system.
(AP, 2/23/21)
2021 Feb 26, President Joe Biden reaffirmed US support for the people of Ukraine and vowed to hold Russia accountable for its aggression in a statement on the 7th anniversary of Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea.
(Axios, 2/26/21)
2021 Mar 1, It was reported that Ukrainian medical facilities have thrown away some unused COVID-19 vaccines after doctors failed to show up for their own appointments to be vaccinated.
(Reuters, 3/1/21)
2021 Mar 3, A court in Ukraine rejected a US extradition request for Craig Lang. The US Army veteran and North Carolina native traveled to Ukraine in 2015 and joined a right-wing paramilitary unit fighting the Russians. He has been charged in the US in connection with a 2018 double murder in Florida.
(SFC, 3/4/21, p.A3)
2021 Mar 4, Ukraine's military accused pro-Russian forces of shelling its positions to provoke them into returning fire. It said Russian-backed forces had violated the ceasefire four times within 24 hours.
(The Telegraph, 3/5/21)
2021 Mar 5, US Sec. of State Antony Blinken announced sanctions on Ihor Kolomoisky, an oil and media magnate in Ukraine, because of significant acts of corruption.
(SSFC, 3/7/21, p.A5)
2021 Mar 8, In Ukraine thousands of women marched through the center of Kyiv on International Women's Day to draw attention to domestic violence, which has risen sharply amid restrictions imposed to block the spread of coronavirus.
(AP, 3/8/21)
2021 Mar 9, Ukraine said it has approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac. Ukraine started COVID-19 vaccinations in late February but only 19,118 first shots had been given by March 9. Ukraine has reported more than 1.4 million coronavirus cases with 27,204 deaths.
(Reuters, 3/9/21)
2021 Mar 18, Ukraine registered 15,053 new coronavirus cases surpassing 1.5 million in total. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital will go into a lockdown on March 20 until April 9 because of the surge in cases.
(SFC, 3/19/21, p.A6)
2021 Mar 26, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for a phone call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin about the Russian troop buildup across his country's border and the escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine. The request was lodged when four Ukrainian troops were killed in a mortar attack in the east.
(AP, 4/12/21)
2021 Mar, Vladyslav Yesypenko, who worked for the Ukrainian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was apprehended by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) after covering an event honoring Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in Simferopol on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. During his first closed-door court appearance, the journalist declared that he was beaten and tortured with electric shocks in order to procure a false confession.
(The Daily Beast, 5/28/21)
2021 Apr 2, President Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since taking office as US and NATO officials warned of a Russian military buildup near eastern Ukraine.
(Axios, 4/2/21)
2021 Apr 3, Ukraine said it has approved China's Sinovac vaccine to fight the coronavirus pandemic, after the country recorded a record rise in new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row.
(Reuters, 4/3/21)
2021 Apr 6, Ukraine’s military said that two of its servicemen were killed within 24 hours in the country's east, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russian-backed separatists since 2014 and where tensions have intensified in recent weeks.
(AP, 4/6/21)
2021 Apr 9, Russia said it fears the resumption of full-scale fighting in eastern Ukraine and could take steps to protect civilians there, a stark warning that comes amid a Russian troop buildup along the border.
(AP, 4/9/21)
2021 Apr 10, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Turkey’s Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s for discussions on bilateral relations.
(AP, 4/10/21)
2021 Apr 11, The Ukrainian military said that a soldier was killed and another seriously wounded in artillery fire from Russia-backed separatist rebels.
(AP, 4/11/21)
2021 Apr 15, Ukraine's top diplomat asked for stronger Western backing, saying “words of support aren't enough" amid escalating tensions in the country’s east and a Russian troop buildup across the border.
(AP, 4/15/21)
2021 Apr 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel amid his country's growing tensions with neighboring Russia, which has deployed troops near its border with Ukraine.
(AP, 4/16/21)
2021 Apr 19, The European Union estimated that 150,000 Russian troops have already amassed for the biggest military buildup ever near Ukraine's borders and that it will only take “a spark" to set off a confrontation.
(AP, 4/19/21)
2021 Apr 21, It was reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law allowing to call up reservists for military service without announcing a mobilization.
(AP, 4/21/21)
2021 Apr 22, Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that massive military exercises near the border with Ukraine had been completed, and that he had ordered troops to return to their permanent bases by May 1. Shoigu also said that they should leave their weapons behind in western Russia for another exercise later this year.
(AP, 4/22/21)
2021 Apr 26, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy unveiled a new nuclear waste repository at Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster that unfolded exactly 35 years ago.
(AP, 4/26/21)
2021 May 1, Ukraine said it has signed a contract with Pfizer for an additional 10 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, brining the total number of doses to 20 million.
(AP, 5/1/21)
2021 May 13, Viktor Medvedchuk (66), a top Ukrainian opposition politician with close links to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, was placed under house arrest, days after being charged with treason.
(AP, 5/14/21)
2021 May 16, It was reported that fission reactions appear to be occurring in an inaccessible chamber of Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Scientists could not say whether the slow rise in neutron emissions will fizzle out or increase.
(SSFC, 5/16/21, p.B8)
2021 Jun 1, Germany's foreign minister rejected the idea of delivering weapons to Ukraine after the country's president indicated that he would like military help from Berlin.
(AP, 6/1/21)
2021 Jun 8, Ukraine registered 535 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily number of infections over the previous 24 hours for nearly a year and the ministry said infection rates declined for eight consecutive weeks.
(Reuters, 6/9/21)
2021 Jun 11, The Pentagon announced plans to send Ukraine $150 million in military assistance that will include counter-artillery radar, counter-drone technology and electronic warfare equipment.
(Reuters, 6/12/21)
2021 Jun 16, Ukrainian police said they have uncovered a ring of computer hackers responsible for cyberattacks that targeted universities in the United States and firms in South Korea, causing half a billion dollars in damage. Ukraine's cyber police announced they had arrested six people involved with Cl0p, and seized a number of computers, cars and about 5 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($185,000) in cash.
(AP, 6/16/21)(NBC News, 6/16/21)
2021 Jun 23, Ukraine said it has registered its first two cases of the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus. Ukraine has been among the European countries most affected by the pandemic, with around 2.23 million COVID-19 cases and 52,123 deaths.
(Reuters, 6/23/21)
2021 Jun 25, Ukraine obliged visitors from countries affected by the COVID-19 Delta variant take a mandatory antigen test in a bid to prevent the spread of the new infections.
(Reuters, 6/25/21)
2021 Jun 26, China said that it provides vaccines to other countries with no political conditions attached, responding to a story by The Associated Press saying China pressured Ukraine into withdrawing from a multi-country statement on human rights in China’s Xinjiang region by threatening to withhold a COVID-19 vaccine shipment.
(AP, 6/26/21)
2021 Jun 28, Ukraine and NATO launched Black Sea drills that will involve dozens of warships, an exercise that follows last week's incident with a British destroyer off Crimea.
(AP, 6/28/21)
2021 Jul 2, Ukraine's health ministry said it is investigating why a 47-year old man died just four hours after he received a shot of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. About 2 million of 41 million people in Ukraine have received their first shot since February, but no deaths caused by vaccination have been reported.
(Reuters, 7/2/21)
2021 Jul 2, A UN human rights agency in a report released today said prisoners taken in the years-long conflict in eastern Ukraine have experienced systematic torture, sexual violence and other abuses.
(AP, 7/2/21)
2021 Jul 11, It was reported that Ukraine police last week seized around 9,000 games consoles and computers in an illegal crypto mine in Vinnytsia. The mine was reportedly stealing as much as $259,300 in electricity each month. Police said it was the largest underground crypto mine to have been discovered in Ukraine.
(Business Insider, 7/11/21)
2021 Aug 3, In Ukraine Vitaly Shishov, the head of Belarusian House in Ukraine (BHU), was found hanged in a park near his home in Kyiv. BHU is an activist organization that helps Belarusians flee abroad.
(Axios, 8/3/21)
2021 Aug 11, Ukraine extended a state of emergency that allows regional authorities to impose COVID-19 restrictions for a further month until Oct. 1 to tackle a surge in infections from the rapidly spreading Delta variant.
(Reuters, 8/11/21)
2021 Aug 16, It was reported that Ukraine is moving ahead with an anti-corruption plan that will take more than 3,000 companies out of the hands of state officials, encouraging foreign investors to help create a more modern, Western-looking economy. All Russians will be banned from taking part in the huge new selloff of Ukrainian state-owned companies.
(The Daily Beast, 8/16/21)
2021 Aug 16, Poland will send 650,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Ukraine. Polish media said the country has a surplus of vaccines after having fully inoculating about 57% of the adult population.
(Reuters, 8/16/21)
2021 Aug 22, German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered reassurances that Ukraine would not suffer from the construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but Ukraine said talks about its future as a transit country had been vague.
(Reuters, 8/22/21)
2021 Aug 23, The energy ministers of Ukraine, the United States and Germany discussed in Kyiv guarantees for Ukraine about its future as a transit country after the construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
(Reuters, 8/23/21)
2021 Aug 24, Ukraine held its first military parade in several years, celebrating the 30th anniversary of its independence and declaring it would reclaim areas of its territory annexed by Russia.
(Reuters, 8/24/21)
2021 Sep 1, President Joe Biden met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and offered strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty against Russian aggression coupled with a promise to deliver $60 million in security aid.
(Reuters, 9/1/21)
2021 Sep 4, Ukrainian officials said more than 50 Crimean Tatars have been detained by Russian law enforcement officers in Simferopol, Crimea. This came during protests after the FSB detained five minority Crimean Tatar activists.
(AP, 9/4/21)
2021 Sep 10, Russian company Gazprom said it had finished construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which will take natural gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine.
(Reuters, 9/11/21)
2021 Sep 19, In Ukraine some seven thousand people including soldiers and diplomats marched peacefully through Kyiv in an annual gay pride parade despite some opposition to an event called off last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 9/19/21)
2021 Sep 20, The US State Department said Russia prevented citizens from exercising their civil and political rights in recent elections and the United States does not recognize the Russian Duma elections on sovereign Ukrainian territory.
(Reuters, 9/20/21)
2021 Sep 22, Ukraine's parliament passed a law defining the concept of anti-Semitism and establishing punishment for transgressions.
(Reuters, 9/22/21)
2021 Sep 22, In the Ukraine a volley of automatic gunfire hit a car carrying a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an incident a senior official called an assassination attempt and Zelenskiy said may have been a message intended for him. The aide, Serhiy Shefir, survived unscathed but his driver was wounded.
(Reuters, 9/22/21)
2021 Sep 23, Ukraine's parliament passed a law to order "oligarchs" to register and stay out of politics, a day after an attempt to kill a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which officials said could have been a response to the reform.
(Reuters, 9/23/21)
2021 Oct 4, Ukrainian police said they had arrested a 25-year-old man who hacked more than 100 foreign companies and caused damage worth more than $150 million.
(AP, 10/4/21)
2021 Oct 5, It was reported that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has imposed sanctions on 95 Ukrainian and Russia citizens in connection with the holding of Russian parliamentary elections in annexed Crimea.
(Reuters, 10/5/21)
2021 Oct 6, In Ukraine the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial center revealed the initial 159 names of hundreds of Nazi troops who took part in the Babi Yar massacre on Sept. 29-30, 1941, when 33,771 Jews were murdered.
(AP, 10/6/21)
2021 Oct 12, EU leaders vowed to uphold Ukraine's energy security and signed deals intended to bolster ties during a summit in Kyiv.
(AP, 10/12/21)
2021 Oct 14, In eastern Ukraine the Russia-backed separatist authorities in the Donetsk region, population 2.2 million, reported 1,0005 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 97 deaths in the past 24 hours. The region has seen a total of 5,578 deaths.
(SFC, 10/15/21, p.A6)
2021 Oct 17, The Organization for Security and Cooperation on Europe (OSCE) said it has suspended its monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine following protests near its headquarters in separatist-controlled Donetsk.
(Reuters, 10/17/21)
2021 Oct 21, In Ukraine coronavirus infections and deaths surged to all-time highs amid a laggard pace of vaccination, with overall inoculations among the lowest in Europe. Authorities reported 22,415 new confirmed infections and 546 deaths in the past 24 hours. Only about 15% of the population is fully vaccinated.
(AP, 10/21/21)
2021 Oct 22, Ukraine shut schools in coronavirus hotspots and announced a requirement for vaccine certificates or negative tests to access public transport in the capital, after COVID-19 deaths hit a record high.
(Reuters, 10/22/21)
2021 Oct 26, Ukraine's health minister urged more citizens to get vaccinated as coronavirus deaths hit a daily record of 734, with hospitalizations up more than a fifth on the previous week.
(Reuters, 10/26/21)
2021 Oct 26, A Dutch appeals court ruled that a collection of ancient Crimean gold artefacts, claimed both by Ukraine and by museums in the Russian-annexed peninsula, should be returned to the Ukrainian state.
(Reuters, 10/26/21)
2021 Oct 29, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded with citizens to get vaccinated quickly as daily infections soared to another all-time high, fueled by a slow vaccine uptake. The Health Ministry reported 26,870 new confirmed infections in the last 24 hours and 648 deaths, bringing the total toll to 66,852.
(AP, 10/29/21)(SFC, 10/30/21, p.A4)
2021 Nov 1, The Ukrainian capital Kyiv implemented tough new restrictions in an attempt to stem a surge in COVID-19 infections that is affecting many countries across eastern Europe amid a low take-up of vaccinations. Less than a fifth of the total population of around 41 million, has been fully vaccinated so far.
(Reuters, 11/1/21)
2021 Nov 3, In Ukraine more than a thousand blocked several streets in Kyiv protesting against COVID-19 vaccine certificates and state-imposed restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the virus.
(SFC, 11/4/21, p.A4)
2021 Nov 8, The US Justice Department said that it had brought charges against Yevgeniy Polyanin (28), a Russian national, whom it accused of conducting ransomware attacks against American government entities and businesses, including one that temporarily shut down the meat supply giant JBS. The department also unsealed a separate indictment accusing a Ukrainian national, Yaroslav Vasinskyi (22), with conducting multiple ransomware attacks, including the July 2021 assault on the technology company Kaseya. Europol said seven hackers linked to REvil and another ransomware family have been arrested since February.
(NY Times, 11/8/21)(SFC, 11/9/21, p.A8)
2021 Nov 11, Ukraine said it will deploy another 8,500 troops and police officers, and 15 helicopters, to guard its border with Belarus, aiming to prevent possible attempts by migrants to breach the frontier.
(Reuters, 11/11/21)
2021 Nov 15, A new round of fighting between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists began with a dispute over grocery shopping. One Ukrainian soldier was killed.
(NY Times, 11/15/21)
2021 Nov 26, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine had uncovered a plot to overthrow his government next week, involving individuals from Russia caught on tape talking about roping Ukraine's richest businessman into backing a coup.
(Reuters, 11/26/21)
2021 Nov 30, Ukraine PM Denys Shmygal accused Russia of being "absolutely" behind what he called an attempt to organize a coup to overthrow the pro-Western government in Kyiv, citing intelligence.
(Reuters, 11/30/21)
2021 Dec 7, Ukrainian authorities charged that Russia is sending tanks and snipers to the line of contact in war-torn eastern Ukraine to “provoke return fire," an accusation that comes amid fears that a Russian troop buildup near the Ukrainian border might indicate plans for an invasion.
(AP, 12/7/21)
2021 Dec 7, President Biden met with Vladimir Putin by video to discuss tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border.
(NY Times, 12/7/21)
2021 Dec 11, The G7 democracies sought to present a united front against Russian aggression toward Ukraine as Britain hosted a meeting of foreign ministers in the northern English city of Liverpool.
(Reuters, 12/11/21)
2021 Dec 16, Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine set a new deadline for Iran to negotiate reparations for families of victims of the Jan 8, 2020, downed Ukrainian flight, warning that their "patience is wearing thin." They said Tehran must indicate by January 5 if it is willing to engage in negotiations.
(AP, 12/17/21)
2021 Dec 16, NATO stood by its promise to open a path to Ukrainian membership amid warnings from Western intelligence agencies that Moscow could soon begin a military incursion.
(NY Times, 12/16/21)
2021 Dec 17, Russia said it wanted a legally binding guarantee that the NATO military alliance would give up any military activity in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, part of a wish list of ambitious security guarantees it wants to negotiate with the West.
(Reuters, 12/17/21)
2021 Dec 18, Ukraine said it has detected its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant. So far Ukraine has reported 3.6 million cases of COVID-19 and 92,929 deaths.
(Reuters, 12/18/21)
2021 Dec 20, Ukrainian authorities placed former president Petro Poroshenko under formal investigation for high treason, accusing him of links to financing separatist forces in the eastern Donbass region.
(Reuters, 12/20/21)
2021 Dec 20, Poland and Lithuania joined Ukraine to call for stronger Western sanctions against Moscow amid a Russian troop buildup near the Ukrainian border that has fueled fears of an invasion.
(AP, 12/20/21)
2021 Dec 20, The US State Department said American citizens should reconsider travel to Ukraine amid increased threats from Russia and that it continues to advise against to travel to the country due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reuters, 12/20/21)
2021 Dec 21, President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia was prepared to take military steps in response to "unfriendly" Western actions over the Ukraine conflict, in a sharp escalation of rhetoric.
(AFP, 12/21/21)
2021 Dec 23, It was reported that Russian mercenaries have deployed to separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine in recent weeks to bolster defenses against Ukrainian government forces as tensions between Moscow and the West rise.
(Reuters, 12/23/21)
2022 Jan 2, President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone, reaffirming US support for Ukraine as it faces growing Russian aggression.
(NBC News, 1/2/22)
2022 Jan 6, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said it has frozen property owned by former President Petro Poroshenko as part of a formal investigation into alleged high treason by the former head of state. Prosecutors have said Poroshenko was involved in financing Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014-2015.
(Reuters, 1/6/22)
2022 Jan 10, Ukraine's SBU security service said it had detained a Russian military intelligence agent who was planning attacks on the country's largest Black Sea port of Odessa.
(Reuters, 1/10/22)
2022 Jan 10, US and Russian diplomats began meeting in Geneva for talks about Ukraine. The US and Russia deadlocked about NATO expansion.
(NY Times, 1/10/22)
2022 Jan 12, The United States and NATO rejected key Russian security demands for easing tensions over Ukraine but left open the possibility of future talks with Moscow on arms control, missile deployments and ways to prevent military incidents between Russia and the West.
(AP, 1/12/22)
2022 Jan 13, The European Union prolonged economic sanctions against Russia for six months for failing to live up to its commitments to the peace agreement in Ukraine, amid concern that Moscow may be preparing to invade its former Soviet neighbor.
(AP, 1/13/22)
2022 Jan 13, Microsoft detected destructive malware in systems belonging to several Ukrainian government agencies and organizations that work closely with the Ukrainian government.
(Reuters, 1/15/22)
2022 Jan 15, Ukraine said it believes a hacker group linked to Belarusian intelligence carried out a cyberattack that hit government websites this week and used malware similar to that used by a group tied to Russian intelligence.
(Reuters, 1/15/22)
2022 Jan 15, Microsoft Corp said in a blog post it observed destructive malware in systems belonging to several Ukrainian government agencies and organizations that work closely with the Ukrainian government. Microsoft, which first detected the malware on Jan. 13, said the malware attacks did not make use of any vulnerability in Microsoft products and services.
(Reuters, 1/15/22)
2022 Jan 16, Ukraine said that Russia was behind a cyberattack that defaced its government websites and alleged that Russia is engaged in an increasing “hybrid war" against its neighbor.
(AP, 1/16/22)
2022 Jan 16, Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he is returning to Ukraine to fight treason charges even though he views them as politically motivated, because he believes that fighting them is part of his defense of national unity.
(AP, 1/16/22)
2022 Jan 17, A bipartisan group of United States senators promised solidarity and weapons on a visit to Kyiv, while warning Russian President Vladimir Putin against launching a new military offensive against Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/17/22)
2022 Jan 19, Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko won a court ruling allowing him to remain at liberty while being investigated for treason in a probe he says was cooked up by allies of his successor, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
(Reuters, 1/19/22)
2022 Jan 19, President Biden said that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin will advance into Ukraine, but he also tried to address Russia's main complaint, indicating that Ukraine would not join NATO in the near future.
(Fox News, 1/19/22)
2022 Jan 20, Ukraine's central bank raised its main interest rate to 10% from 9%, crossing into double digits for the first time since April 2020, to try to tackle persistently high inflation and the economic fallout from a standoff with Russia.
(Reuters, 1/20/22)
2022 Jan 20, US President Joe Biden said that he has made clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that any Russian movement into Ukraine would be considered an invasion.
(Reuters, 1/20/22)
2022 Jan 20, The US imposed sanctions on current and former Ukrainian officials it accuses of working with Russia's intelligence service to destabilize Ukraine as Washington warned it was prepared to take further action if Russia launches an invasion into the former Soviet country.
(Reuters, 1/20/22)
2022 Jan 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy concluded two days of talks with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda. PM Duda called on European leaders to take a tough, united stance towards Russia amid fears that Moscow could be readying an invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/21/22)
2022 Jan 21, Ukraine's military intelligence said that Russia was actively recruiting mercenaries and sending them for intensive training in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/21/22)
2022 Jan 21, PM Justin Trudeau said Canada will offer Ukraine a loan of up to C$120 million ($95.6 million) and is looking at other ways to support Kyiv as a crisis with Russia deepens.
(Reuters, 1/21/22)
2022 Jan 22, The British government said that the Kremlin was developing plans to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine, and had already chosen a potential candidate, as President Vladimir V. Putin weighs whether to order the Russian forces amassed on Ukraine’s border to attack. Britain's foreign ministry said Russia was considering the Ukrainian politician Yevhen Murayev to lead a new government. Russia dismissed Britain's accusation as "disinformation." Murayev poured cold water on the claim in comments to the Observer newspaper.
(NY Times, 1/22/22)(Reuters, 1/23/22)
2022 Jan 23, The US State Department announced it was ordering diplomats' family members to leave Ukraine, as US President Joe Biden weighed options for boosting America's military assets in Eastern Europe to counter a buildup of Russian troops.
(Reuters, 1/23/22)
2022 Jan 24, EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union aims to help Ukraine with a 1.2 billion euro financial aid package to mitigate the effects of the conflict with Russia, which has amassed troops and heavy weapons on Ukraine's border.
(Reuters, 1/24/22)
2022 Jan 24, NATO said it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, in what Russia denounced as an escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/24/22)
2022 Jan 25, Canada said it is temporarily withdrawing the families of its diplomats in Ukraine because of the Russian military build-up on the borders of the Eastern European country.
(Reuters, 1/25/22)
2022 Jan 25, A US plane carrying military equipment and munitions landed in Kyiv, the third shipment of a $200-million security package to shore up Ukraine as it braces for a possible Russian military offensive.
(Reuters, 1/25/22)
2022 Jan 26, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the United States believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains poised to use force against Ukraine by mid-February despite a pressure campaign to stop him.
(AFP, 1/26/22)
2022 Jan 26, Unidentified hackers briefly took down a promotional website for Ukraine's foreign ministry for several hours today, amid increased tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over a massive build-up of Russian forces near their borders.
(Reuters, 1/26/22)
2022 Jan 26, The United States and its allies formally rejected Russia’s demands that NATO retreat from Eastern Europe and bar Ukraine from ever entering the alliance, but they proposed several areas — including nuclear arms control and limits on military exercises — where they were willing to negotiate.
(NY Times, 1/26/22)
2022 Jan 27, The United States said it has asked the United Nations Security Council meet publicly on Jan. 31 to discuss Russia's "threatening behavior" against Ukraine and its troop build-up on Ukraine's borders and in Belarus. UN diplomats said any attempt to stop the meeting would likely be defeated.
(Reuters, 1/27/22)
2022 Jan 28, Russia's top diplomat insisted that Moscow isn't going to start a war with Ukraine. But with more than 100,000 Russian troops massed along the country's borders, he also said Moscow would not "be ignored".
(CBS News, 1/28/22)
2022 Jan 31, Russia failed to keep a UN Security Council session on the Ukraine crisis behind closed doors, which provides the United States and other members with a public forum to criticize Moscow for its troop buildup.
(Reuters, 1/31/22)
2022 Jan 31, It was reported that the infamous Wagner Group, run by one of President Putin’s closest associates, is pulling dozens of battle-hardened mercenaries out of Africa to send them to Eastern Europe where Russian forces are threatening Ukraine.
(The Daily Beast, 1/31/22)
2022 Feb 1, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree to boost his armed forces by 100,000 troops over three years, as European leaders lined up to back him in a standoff with Russia and the United States demanded immediate Russian de-escalation.
(Reuters, 2/1/22)
2022 Feb 1, Ukrainian investigators said they had searched the premises of former managers at state energy firm Naftogaz and private companies in a pre-trial investigation into the suspected misappropriation of 2.2 billion hryvnias ($77 million) of gas.
(Reuters, 2/1/22)
2022 Feb 1, Leaders of Britain, Poland and Ukraine met in Kyiv to strengthen their three-way cooperation in the face of the threat of a new Russian military intervention.
(Reuters, 2/1/22)
2022 Feb 2, The United States said it will send nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to reinforce Eastern European NATO allies in the face of what Washington describes as a Russian threat to invade Ukraine. Pres. Biden ordered 2,000 US-based troops to Poland and shifted 1,000 from Germany to Romania.
(Reuters, 2/2/22)(SFC, 2/3/22, p.A2)
2022 Feb 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed an offer from visiting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to mediate in Kyiv's standoff with Moscow, and Erdogan promised to do whatever he could to end the crisis peacefully. Zelenskiy also trumpeted a deal enabling Ukrainian factories to produce Turkish drones that have already been deployed against Russia-backed rebels in its eastern Donbass region.
(Reuters, 2/3/22)
2022 Feb 3, A statement by the Chinese foreign ministry said China and Russia coordinated their positions on Ukraine during a meeting between both countries' foreign ministers in Beijing.
(Reuters, 2/3/22)
2022 Feb 3, NATO said Russia had stepped up deployments to Ukraine's northern neighbor Belarus in recent days and was expected to have 30,000 troops there for joint military exercises this month.
(Reuters, 2/3/22)
2022 Feb 6, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day," launching a conflict that would come at an “enormous human cost".
(AP, 2/6/22)
2022 Feb 7, French President Emmanuel Macron flew to Moscow in bid to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to dial down tensions with Ukraine. Moscow played down expectations of a breakthrough. Putin said President Emmanuel Macron of France had offered “rather feasible" proposals, but the Russian leader did not rule out an invasion.
(Reuters, 2/7/22)(NY Times, 2/8/22)
2022 Feb 7, After meeting with the leader of Germany, President Biden said that a lucrative gas pipeline project connecting Russia and Germany would not go forward if Moscow were to invade Ukraine.
(NY Times, 2/7/22)
2022 Feb 11, The US and its allies urged their citizens to leave Ukraine right away to avoid a Russian invasion, including a possible air assault, that Washington said could occur anytime.
(Reuters, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 12, In Ukraine several thousand rallied in Kyiv to show unity amid fears of a Russian invasion, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told people not to panic and pushed back against what he said was a glut of bleak war predictions being reported in the media.
(Reuters, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 12, Pres. Joe Biden called President Vladimir Putin and made clear that if Russia invades Ukraine, the US and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs".
(AP, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 12, The Pentagon said about 150 US troops from the Florida National Guard who have been in Ukraine to help train Ukrainian forces are leaving the country as the threat of a Russian invasion increases.
(Reuters, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 12, It was reported that the US State Department has ordered non-emergency US embassy staff to leave Ukraine amid rising tensions with Russia.
(Reuters, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 13, Ukraine received a consignment of Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems and ammunition by plane from Lithuania. Earlier today two other planes delivered about 180 tons of ammunition from the United States.
(Reuters, 2/13/22)
2022 Feb 13, Australia said it was evacuating its embassy in Kyiv as the situation on the Russia-Ukraine border deteriorated quickly, with PM Scott Morrison calling on China to not remain "chillingly silent" on the crisis.
(Reuters, 2/13/22)
2022 Feb 13, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Russia of immediate sanctions and "hard reactions" if it attacks Ukraine, maintaining a tough tone ahead of a meeting this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters, 2/13/22)
2022 Feb 15, At least 10 Ukrainian websites stopped working due to DDOS cyberattacks, including those of the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Culture Ministry and Ukraine’s two largest state banks.
(AP, 2/15/22)
2022 Feb 15, PM Fumio Kishida told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call that Japan is ready to extend at least $100 million in emergency loans to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/15/22)
2022 Feb 15, President Vladimir V. Putin said that Russia had decided “to partially pull back troops" as the Defense Ministry announced that some forces from military districts bordering Ukraine were being sent back to their garrisons. Russia's lower house of parliament voted to ask President Vladimir Putin to recognize two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent. Putin said that Russia does not want a war in Europe, but described the situation in east Ukraine's breakaway regions as "genocide" and called for the conflict there to be resolved through the Minsk peace progress.
(NY Times, 2/15/22)(Reuters, 2/15/22)
2022 Feb 15, Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz began in Moscow, the latest meeting in weeks of diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions over Ukraine.
(AP, 2/15/22)
2022 Feb 16, Ukrainians raised national flags and played the country's anthem to show unity against fears of a Russian invasion that Western powers have said could be imminent.
(Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022 Feb 16, The United States and NATO said Russia was still building up troops around Ukraine despite Moscow's insistence it was pulling back.
(Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022 Feb 17, The Ukrainian military said shells fired by Russian-backed separatists in the morning hit a kindergarten, wounding three teachers but no students.
(NY Times, 2/18/22)
2022 Feb 17, British PM Boris Johnson said that an attack on a kindergarten in Ukraine was a false flag operation designed to discredit the Ukrainians.
(Reuters, 2/17/22)
2022 Feb 17, Britain scrapped so called "golden visas" for wealthy investors amid heightened concerns about illicit Russian money after the Kremlin positioned more than 100,000 troops around Ukraine's border.
(Reuters, 2/17/22)
2022 Feb 17, US President Joe Biden said there was now every indication Russia was planning to invade into Ukraine, including signs Moscow was carrying out a false flag operation to justify it, after Ukrainian forces and pro-Moscow rebels traded fire.
(Reuters, 2/17/22)
2022 Feb 18, Ukraine called on the international community to condemn what it said were provocations by Russia in separatist-held eastern Ukrainian areas, saying that Moscow would only escalate the situation further if it did not. Russian-backed separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine said that a parked jeep with nobody inside had been blown up near a government building in the center of the city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 2/18/22)
2022 Feb 18, Pres. Vladimir Putin said that Russia needed to work on increasing its economic sovereignty and that the West would always find a pretext to impose sanctions on Moscow. Putin told Ukraine to sit down for negotiations with Moscow-backed separatists in Ukraine's east.
(Reuters, 2/18/22)
2022 Feb 18, Russian-backed separatists announced the sudden surprise evacuation of their breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, a shock turn in a conflict the West believes Moscow plans to use to justify an all-out invasion of its neighbor.
(Reuters, 2/18/22)
2022 Feb 19, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he wanted to convene a meeting of world powers to secure new security guarantees for his country as the current global system is no longer fit for purpose. Ukraine's military said that mercenaries had arrived in separatist-held eastern Ukraine to stage provocations in collaboration with Russia's special services.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine has received a plane load of machine guns, surveillance gear and rifles as part of a Canadian military assistance package.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the Minsk Agreement the "only way out" for resolving the Ukraine situation, and said Ukraine should not be a frontline for competition among major powers.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, France urged its citizens to leave the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk without delay after a rise in tensions following Russia's military build-up near Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertion that Ukraine was committing genocide in the Donbass region was ridiculous.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, President Vladimir Putin launched exercises by Russia's strategic nuclear missile forces and Washington said Russian troops massed near Ukraine's border were moving forward and "poised to strike." The head of a Russia-dominated military alliance that is sometimes called Moscow's answer to NATO has said his organization could send peacekeepers to territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed rebels if needed.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, Russian-backed separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine declared a full military mobilization, a day after ordering women and children to evacuate to southern Russia because of what they said was the threat of conflict.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 20, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern part of the country, where clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces intensified in recent days. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that it was time for the West to implement at least part of the sanctions it has prepared against Russia.
(Reuters, 2/20/22)
2022 Feb 20, Poland, which currently holds the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said it would convene an extraordinary session of the group's Permanent Council on Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/20/22)
2022 Feb 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the need to step up the search for diplomatic solutions to the escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine in a phone call. Macron put blame on the Russian separatists and Putin on Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/20/22)
2022 Feb 21, Ukraine's government-run cybersecurity agency CERT-UA said it had found warnings on a hacking forum. Authorities said they had seen online warnings that hackers were preparing to launch major attacks on government agencies, banks and the defence sector on Feb. 22.
(Reuters, 2/21/22)
2022 Feb 21, The leaders of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize them as independent. Putin said Russia would decide later today whether or not to recognize two breakaway regions as independent.
(Reuters, 2/21/22)
2022 Feb 21, Moscow said Ukrainian military saboteurs had tried to enter Russian territory in armed vehicles, an accusation dismissed as "fake news" by Kyiv.
(Reuters, 2/21/22)
2022 Feb 21, Slovak PM told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call that Slovakia is working on helping Ukraine's energy security.
(Reuters, 2/21/22)
2022 Feb 22, Britain imposed sanctions on Gennady Timchenko and two other billionaires with close links to Vladimir Putin after the Russian president ordered troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China is concerned about the "worsening" situation in Ukraine, repeating his call for all parties to show restraint and resolve differences through dialogue.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia respected the sovereignty of other ex-Soviet republics and that Moscow had made an exception with Ukraine because he said it was under foreign control. Putin got the green light from his upper house of parliament to deploy Russian military forces to two separatist-held regions of eastern Ukraine for what lawmakers said would be a "peacekeeping" mission. President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula should be internationally recognized as a legitimate reflection of the local population’s choice, likening it to a vote for Kosovo independence.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula should be internationally recognized as a legitimate reflection of the local population’s choice, likening it to a vote for Kosovo independence.
(AP, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, Japan said it stood ready to join the US and other G7 industrialized nations in slapping sanctions on Russia, should President Vladimir Putin order an invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said Syria supports the decision of its ally Russia to recognize two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, Turkey called Russia's recognition of Ukraine's separatists an unacceptable violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 23, Ukraine declared a 30-day state of emergency and told its citizens in Russia to flee, while Moscow began evacuating its Kyiv embassy. Ukraine started conscripting reservists aged 18-60 following a decree by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It was reported that two separate convoys of military equipment with no identifiable insignia were moving towards the city of Donetsk along different roads from the direction of the Russian border.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, The websites of Ukraine's government, foreign ministry and state security service were down in what the government said was the start of another massive denial of service (DDoS) attack that began at around 4 p.m.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, Ukraine appealed to the UN General Assembly to stop Russia's "aggressive plans," as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the 193-member body that an expanded conflict "could see a scale and severity of need unseen for many years".
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, PM Boris Johnson said Britain will provide further military support to Ukraine, including lethal defensive weapons. Britain accused Russian news channel RT of being a tool of a Kremlin disinformation campaign and asked the UK media regulator to take action if needed after Russia recognized two rebel regions of eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Britain will stop Russia selling sovereign debt in London after President Vladimir Putin deployed military forces into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, The EU agreed to slap sanctions on Russia's defense minister, a top adviser to President Vladimir Putin and hundreds of Russian lawmakers who voted in favor of recognizing the independence of separatist areas in southeast Ukraine.
(AP, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, The presidents of Lithuania and Poland said Ukraine deserves European Union candidate status, and that they will support it in this goal.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 24, Russian troops poured over the border, and Russian planes and missile launchers attacked Ukrainian cities and airports. Ukrainian military said they have shot down six Russian fighters and a helicopter during intense battles to maintain control over cities. The Kremlin said that the length of Russia's military operation in Ukraine depended on how it progressed and on its aims, and that the assault should ideally cleanse the country of "Nazis" and "neutralize" Kyiv's military potential. Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen."
(NY Times, 2/24/22)(Reuters, 2/24/22)(Axios, 2/24/22)(AP, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on all citizens who were ready to defend the country from Russian forces to come forward, saying Kyiv would issue weapons to everyone who wants them. Zelenskiy said Ukraine was listening to the sound of a new iron curtain falling as Russian troops advanced across his country's territory Ukrainians fleeing a Russian invasion started trickling into Poland, with dozens arriving at the normally quiet Medyka crossing, some carrying luggage and accompanied by children. Ukraine's military suspended commercial shipping at its ports after Russian forces invaded the country.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, China rejected calling Russia's moves on Ukraine an "invasion" and urged all sides to exercise restraint, even as it advised its citizens there to stay home or at least take the precaution of displaying a Chinese flag if they needed to drive anywhere.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, Colombia, Argentina and Chile called for swift withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, as other Latin American countries rejected the use of force but stopped short of calling for a Russian exit.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 24, Ursula von der Leyen, the chief of the EU's Executive Commission, said the European Union will hold Moscow accountable for the "unjustified" attack on Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, European soccer’s governing body said it is convening an emergency meeting of its top board members on Feb. 25 after deciding to strip St. Petersburg, Russia, from hosting the Champions League final, the biggest club game of the year, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(NY Times, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, The German Eastern Business Association, a lobby group representing German businesses with interest in Eastern Europe, called on friends and partners in Russia to raise their voices and call for Russia's war on Ukraine to be ended.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, India said it is focusing on evacuating its 16,000 nationals still stuck in Ukraine. The schedule for special flights to Kyiv were cancelled as the country's airspace was closed.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, Russia's Aeroflot was banned from flying to the United Kingdom after President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 24, US President Joe Biden met with his counterparts from the Group of Seven allies to map out more severe measures against Russia after President Vladimir Putin launched what Biden called "a premeditated war" against Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, Venezuela's foreign ministry said that NATO and the United States had violated the Minsk agreements, a 2014 deal aimed at ending a war in Donbas.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 24, Global oil price Brent surged past $100 a barrel, after Russia invaded Ukraine, exacerbating concerns of oil supply disruption.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that said that Russian saboteurs had entered Kyiv, the capital, and that he was “target No. 1" for Russian forces, followed by his family. He also said at least 137 Ukrainians, military and civilian, have been killed. People in Kyiv were told to make Molotov cocktail petrol bombs as they hid in makeshift shelters and basements, awaiting a Russian assault on the capital.
(NY Times, 2/25/22)(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, The top Ukraine official in South Korea said that his country wants to request Seoul's assistance in boosting its cybersecurity capability to defend against Russian attacks.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, The cargo ship Namura Queen was hit by a rocket off the shore of Ukraine in the Black Sea, causing a fire on board. Russia fired on "Namura Queen" under Panama's flag and "Millennial Spirit" under Moldova's flag.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 26, PM Alexander De Croo said Belgium will deploy 300 troops in Romania as part of NATO efforts to strengthen its eastern flank, as Russia pounded Ukrainian cities with artillery and cruise missiles for a third day.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 25, In London Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man before he fell foul of the Kremlin, said that only revolution would topple Vladimir Putin, and he expected the Kremlin chief to crack down further on dissent at home after invading Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, It was reported that Canadian liquor stores are removing Russian vodka and other Russian made alcoholic beverages from their shelves in an act of condemnation over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. An int'l boycott of Russian vodka soon developed and continued to grow.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)(SFC, 3/2/22, p.C2)
2022 Feb 25, The container shipping arm of China's COSCO Shipping said that it will stop accepting new bookings for cargoes to and from Ukraine, the latest shipping group to take such action after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, It was reported that the European Union has agreed to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov along with other sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
(AP, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Thousands of Georgians poured into the streets for a 2nd day to protest their government's inaction following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Axios, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 25, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the European Union will accept all people fleeing the violence caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance has activated elements of the 40,000-troop NATO Response Force (NRF) for the first time, warning at a press conference: "The Kremlin's objectives are not limited to Ukraine".
(Axios, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for negotiations with representatives of Ukraine after the Russian leader held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Russia said it has banned British airlines from landing at its airports or crossing its airspace. The move follows London's ban on the flights of Russian flag carrier Aeroflot imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that would have deplored Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while China abstained from the vote - a move Western countries view as a win for showing Russia's international isolation.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Russia said it was partially limiting access to Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook, accusing it of "censoring" Russian media, the latest in a series of steps against US social media giants.
(AP, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, The Russia-based Conti cybercrime group, known for using ransomware to extort millions of dollars from US and European companies, vowed to attack enemies of the Kremlin if they respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It later walked back on the position as they themselves became victims of a leak.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Feb 25, The UN refugee agency said more than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled their country in less than 48 hours and "many more are moving towards" Ukraine's borders.
(Axios, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy to the Holy See to relay his concern over Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Moscow's ambassador, in an unprecedented departure from diplomatic protocol.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, President Joe Biden instructed the US State Department to release up to an additional $350 million worth of weapons from US stocks to Ukraine as it struggles to repulse a Russian invasion.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, Protesters around the world showed their support for the people of Ukraine and called on governments to do more to help Kyiv, punish Russia and avoid a broader conflict.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 25, Several companies, including automakers Volkswagen and Renault and tire maker Nokian Tyres outlined plans to shut or shift manufacturing operations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 26, Ukraine braced for an all-out assault on Kyiv as its leaders warned residents that Russia wanted to “bring the capital to its knees." Russian forces pounded Ukrainian cities with artillery and cruise missiles for a third day running. A defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the capital Kyiv remained in Ukrainian hands. Heavy fighting was reported in and around Kharkiv and there were Ukrainian counterattacks in some places previously claimed by Russian forces, including Sumy in the east.
(NY Times, 2/26/22)(The Guardian, 2/26/22)(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, In Ukraine a missile struck a civilian apartment block on the southwestern edge of Kyiv, injuring at least six people. Ukrainian health minister, Viktor Lyashko, said that 198 people, among them three children, had been killed since the start of the Russian incursion on Feb. 24.
(NY Times, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 26, More than 150,000 refugees have fled Ukraine into neighboring countries since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion. Poland said at least 100,000 Ukrainians had crossed the border in the past 48 hours.
(Axios, 2/26/22)(SSFC, 2/27/22, p.A5)
2022 Feb 26, A United Nations relief agency said at least 64 civilians have been killed and more than 160,000 are on the move after Russian troops entered Ukraine this week.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 26, Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that Chechen fighters had been deployed to Ukraine and urged Ukrainians to overthrow their government.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, An EU diplomat said Germany is in the process of approving the delivery of 400 RPGs to Ukraine by a third country, a major shift in policy after Berlin faced criticism for refusing to send weapons to Kyiv, unlike other Western allies.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, In Spain Ukrainian sailor Taras Ostapchuk (55) tried to sink a superyacht allegedly belonging to a Russian arms tycoon at a luxurious marina in Mallorca. His target was the Lady Anastasia, a 457-feet-long superyacht owned by Alexander Mikheev (61), the CEO of Rosoboronexport, the weapons export arm of Russia's state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec. On Feb. 28 Ostapchuk was on his way to his native Kyiv, determined to join the fight against invading forces there.
(AP, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 26, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a phone call that Ankara is making efforts for an immediate ceasefire.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk said that the company's Starlink satellite broadband service is available in Ukraine and SpaceX is sending more terminals to the country, whose internet has been disrupted due to the Russian invasion.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 27, The Ukrainian president's office said negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow would be held at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. They would meet without preconditions. Pres. Zelenskiy said Ukraine is establishing a foreign "international" legion for volunteers from abroad. Zelenskiy also said Ukraine has filed a suit against Russia at the highest UN court in The Hague for disputes between states, citing erroneous allegations of genocide against Kyiv.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, It was reported that some Ukrainian men and women are returning home from across Europe to help defend their homeland. Poland’s Border Guard said that some 22,000 people have crossed into Ukraine since Feb 24.
(AP, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that 352 civilians have been killed, including 14 children since Russian troops entered Ukraine on Feb. 24.
(NY Times, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro declined to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, while departing from his government's official stance at the United Nations to say Brazil would remain neutral.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 27, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would sharply increase its spending on defence to more than 2% of its economic output in one of a series of policy shifts prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. More than 100,000 people protested in solidarity with Ukraine in Berlin, calling for the end of Russia's invasion and saying history should not repeat itself.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Israeli PM Naftali Bennett offered to mediate an end to the Ukraine hostilities during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Mexican bread maker Grupo Bimbo said it has temporarily suspended operations in its Dnipro plant to ensure the safety of its 150 workers, all of whom are Ukrainians, citing the ongoing crisis with Russia.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear-armed forces on high alert as Ukrainian fighters defending the city of Kharkiv said they had repelled an attack by invading Russian troops. Russian troops blew up a natural gas pipeline in Kharkiv before daybreak.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Russia's police detained 2710 people at anti-war protests that occurred in 51 cities, according to rights group OVD-Info, raising the total since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 to over 4,000. Today's protests coincided with the seventh anniversary of the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)(SFC, 2/28/22, p.A2)
2022 Feb 27, Two Russian billionaires, Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska, called for an end to the conflict triggered by President Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine, with Fridman calling it a tragedy for both countries' people.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, NATO member Turkey changed its rhetoric to call Russia's assault on Ukraine a "war" and pledged to implement parts of an international pact that would potentially limit the transit of Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked the European Union to allow Ukraine to gain membership under a special procedure immediately as it defends itself from invasion by Russian forces. At least 11 people were killed in rocket strikes by Russian forces on residential districts of Kharkiv.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Human rights groups and Ukraine's ambassador to the United States accused Russia of attacking Ukrainians with cluster bombs and vacuum bombs, weapons that have been condemned by a variety of international organizations.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Russian and Ukrainian officials met on the Belarusian border to discuss a ceasefire while invading Russian forces encountered determined resistance from Ukrainian troops and civilians on a fifth day of conflict. Russian forces fired on residential areas in Kharkiv, killing dozens and wounding hundreds of people.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, PM Justin Trudeau said Canada will supply anti-tank weapons and upgraded ammunition to Ukraine to support its fight against a Russian invasion, and it will ban imports of Russian crude oil.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a news briefing that Western arms supplies to Ukraine showed that Moscow was right to try to demilitarize its neighbor.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, It was reported that Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich, who owns English Premier League soccer club Chelsea, has accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, The movement of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for a campaign of civil disobedience to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It was reported that more than 5,000 demonstrators have been arrested in Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine last week.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)(CBS News, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Websites of several Russian media outlets were hacked, with a message condemning Moscow's invasion of Ukraine appearing on their main pages, while others were blocked by the Russian authorities over their coverage of the war.
(AP, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, India said it plans to send four senior ministers to Ukraine's border nations, to help in the rescue of thousands of its citizens who remain trapped more than four days after Russia's invasion of the country.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, A NATO official said a cyberattack on a NATO member state could trigger Article 5, its collective defence clause, amid concerns that chaos in cyberspace around Russia's invasion of Ukraine could spill over into other territories.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Nigeria's government condemned reports that its citizens, and those of other African countries, have been stopped from leaving war-torn Ukraine.
(BBC, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) suspended container bookings to and from Russia hours after Denmark-based Maersk said it was considering doing the same in response to Western sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Switzerland's Federal Council said it would adopt sanctions against Russia effective immediately. The measures, it said, would match those of the European Union, of which Switzerland is not a member.
( Business Insider, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, The Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said it would not be an avenue for any circumvention of powerful Western sanctions put on Russia over the weekend.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, The United States shuttered its embassy in Minsk and allowed non-emergency employees and family members to leave its embassy in Moscow as Russia pushed on with its invasion of Ukraine for a fifth day.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Mar 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the EU to "prove that you are with us" in Ukraine's war with Russia, a day after Kyiv officially asked to join the bloc.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked his Chinese counterpart in a phone call to use Beijing's ties with Moscow to stop Russia's military invasion of its neighbor.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine believes Russia is preparing a mass disinformation campaign to suggest senior military and political figures have surrendered.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, In Ukraine an Indian student was killed by shelling in the eastern city of Kharkiv, prompting New Delhi to step up demands for safe passage to evacuate thousands of its nationals trapped in the war zone.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Over 70 Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed by a Russian missile strike on a military base in the eastern city of Okhtyrka. At least 10 people were killed and 35 more were injured as Russian missiles and rockets struck Kharkiv.
(The Daily Beast, 3/1/22)(https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60567162)
2022 Mar 1, PM Scott Morrison said Australia has committed A$70 million ($50 million) to fund lethal defensive weapons for Ukraine, including missiles and ammunition.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Britain said it was pledging another 80 million pounds ($106.5 million) towards aid for Ukraine to help it tackle a growing humanitarian crisis.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Estonian PM Kaja Kallas said NATO must improve its defenses of the Baltic nations, the most vulnerable part of the military alliance, after meeting with Britain's Boris Johnson and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. Johnson said the shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv by Russian forces is an atrocity reminiscent of the attacks on Sarajevo by the Serbs in the 1990s, adding such attacks were uniting the world against Russia.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Russia warned Kyiv residents to flee their homes and rained rockets down on Kharkiv, as Russian commanders who have failed to achieve a quick victory shifted their tactics to intensify the bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman said that the war in Ukraine was a tragedy and that it should stop.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Russia's Foreign Ministry said a system should be created to hold western tech giants, including Meta Platforms Inc and Alphabet's Google, responsible for what it called "inciting war." State communications Roskomnadzor also demanded that foreign internet services stop discriminating against Russian media in Europe.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Russia took radio station Ekho Moskvy off air, because of its coverage of the invasion. Some restaurant users have begun posting online reviews detailing Russian actions in Ukraine to try to smuggle information past the tight control of state media.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 1, Taiwan said it will join moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system and has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine to show support for the international "democratic camp".
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Ukraine and Russia to immediately stop fighting and to "contribute to world peace", adding Ankara was not opposed to NATO enlargement.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, UN agencies launched an emergency appeal to respond to the soaring humanitarian needs following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling for $1.7 billion to help people who have fled the country and those still inside.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, More than 100 UN diplomats from 40 nations walked out when Russia’s foreign minister began to speak at the Human Rights Council. Dozens of envoys boycotted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s speech in protest over the Kremlin-led invasion of Ukraine, which has entered its sixth day.
(Yahoo News, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, US Pres. Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address. He devoted the opening of his speech to a pledge of solidarity with Ukraine’s democratically elected government and a promise to hold the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, accountable for the invasion. Biden used much of the rest of the speech to promote his domestic agenda.
(NY Times, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 1, American and EU officials said at least 136 civilians and about 2,000 Russian soldiers have died since Russia attacked Ukraine on Feb 24. Ukraine has said its forces have killed more than 5,300 Russian troops.
(NY Times, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, In Ukraine Kyiv was under bombardment this morning, as Russian tanks continued their slow advance to the capital. Authorities said 21 people were killed by shelling and air strikes in Kharkiv in the past 24 hours, and four more this morning.
(NY Times, 3/2/22)(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Ukrainians said they were battling on in the port of Kherson, the first sizeable city Russia claimed to have seized, as air strikes and bombardment caused devastation in cities that Moscow's bogged down forces have failed to capture.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the country was set to receive Stinger and Javelin missiles from abroad, as well as another shipment of Turkish drones.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, British PM Boris Johnson said that he believed the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin towards Ukraine already qualified as a war crime. Johnson also said law firms working to stop Russian oligarchs from being hit by government sanctions could face penalties themselves.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, British online fashion retailers ASOS and Boohoo said they have suspended sales in Russia after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, joining a growing list of companies shunning the country.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Britain's Premier League club Everton said it has suspended all commercial sponsorship arrangements with the Russian companies USM Holdings, MegaFon and Yota with immediate effect as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Motorsport UK banned Russian and Belarusian license holders from racing in the British Grand Prix amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, It was reported that many of the world's largest crypto exchanges - including Binance and U.S.-based Kraken and Coinbase - have stopped short of a blanket ban on Russian clients, despite a plea from the Ukrainian government for one. They said they would screen users and block anyone targeted by sanctions.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Luxury retailer Canada Goose Holdings Inc said it would suspend all wholesale and e-commerce sales to Russia, becoming the latest company to respond to the country's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, India's opposition stepped up pressure on the government to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a day after an Indian student died during shelling in the eastern city of Kharkiv.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, It was reported that India has asked Indonesia to increase palm oil shipments to the country to compensate for a loss of sunflower oil supplies from the Black Sea region due to the Ukraine crisis.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Honda Motor said it has suspended exports of cars and motorcycles to Russia, signaling the likelihood more Japanese automakers would join the global swell of companies halting business with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, It was reported that Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, has taken in at least 88,000 Ukrainians.
(Fox News, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, It was reported that jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has called on Russians to stage daily protests against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, depicting President Vladimir Putin as an "obviously insane tsar".
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Russia's defense ministry said that 498 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine and another 1,597 had been wounded since the beginning of Moscow's military operation there. The ministry also said that more than 2,870 Ukrainian soldiers and "nationalists" had been killed and about 3,700 wounded. The numbers could not be independently verified.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Russian forces seized the southern port of Kherson and besieged other cities, with casualties and destruction mounting. More than a million people have fled since the war began a week ago.
(NY Times, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution rebuking the Russian invasion of Ukraine and calling Moscow to immediately withdraw all forces from Ukraine, a move that aimed to politically isolate Russia. The resolution won support from 141 of the 193-member body. The General Assembly voted 141-5 in a nonbinding measure to condemn Russia's actions. Thirty-five countries, including India, abstained.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)(Axios, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, The US Justice Department launched a task force known as "KleptoCapture" aimed at straining the finances of Russia's oligarchs as the United States steps up pressure Russia to cease its invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Former President Trump called the Russian invasion into Ukraine "a holocaust" and urged Russia to stop fighting, a large shift in tone since last week when the former president praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(The Hill, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 3, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces are stepping up efforts to seize control of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Ukraine's parliament approved a bill to allow the seizure of assets or property in Ukraine owned by Russia or Russian citizens due to the invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, In Ukraine at least 22 people were killed and four wounded in a Russian air strike that hit two schools and private houses in the eastern Chernihiv region. Two cargo ships came under apparent attack at Ukrainian ports. Four crew members were missing after Estonian-owned ship exploded and sank off Odessa, and at least one crew member was killed in a blast on a Bangladeshi ship at Olvia.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Russian President Vladimir Putin has deployed thermobaric weapons systems in Ukraine and London is worried about how broadly they could be used.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Canadian officials said Canada will remove Russia and Belarus's most favored nation status as trading partners, and will provide additional lethal aid to Ukraine, including rocket launchers and hand grenades.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Germany said it will send 2,700 shoulder-launched surface-to-air rockets to Ukraine, in addition to arms shipments the country has already announced.
(NY Times, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, It was reported that the Dutch are sending rocket launchers for air defense to Ukraine. The Estonians are sending Javelin antitank missiles. The Poles and the Latvians are sending Stinger surface-to-air missiles. The Czechs are sending machine guns, sniper rifles, pistols and ammunition. Even formerly neutral countries like Sweden and Finland are sending weapons.
(NY Times, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Pres. Vladimir Putin said that Russia would achieve its goal in Ukraine “no matter what" in a 90-minute phone call with French Pres, Emmanuel Macron. In a televised address, Putin told Russians that he was determined to fight the war.
(NY Times, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 3, Russian and Ukrainian delegations convened near the Ukraine-Belarus border for a second round of peace talks, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to signal his commitment to continuing the invasion. Negotiators agreed to open humanitarian corridors for those wishing to evacuate from Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing invasion of the country.
(Axios, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Russian forces pushed west in Ukraine, bearing down on another important port city, Mykolai from the north, east and south.
(NY Times, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he believed some foreign leaders were preparing for war against Russia and that Moscow would press on with its military operation in Ukraine until "the end".
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Lukoil's board of directors said in a statement: "The Board of Directors of LUKOIL expresses herewith its deepest concerns about the tragic events in Ukraine. Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy".
(The Hill, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 3, Russian human rights activist and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov urged world powers to adopt a harsher military and economic strategy against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine. Kasparov said there could be no peace in the region until Putin is removed from power.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors backed a resolution that "deplores" Russia's invasion of Ukraine and urges it to let Ukraine control all its nuclear facilities. Russia and China voted against the resolution. The UN human rights office said that it had confirmed 249 civilians have been killed and 553 injured in Ukraine during the first week of the conflict following Russia's invasion.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 4, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Russian soldiers had committed rape in Ukrainian cities. Regional governor Vitaliy Kim said Russian forces were driven out of the city of Mykolayiv after attacking it, but fighting continued around the city outskirts. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said the city has no water, heat or electricity and is running out of food after coming under attack by Russian forces for the past five days.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said that the Belarusian armed forces were not taking part and would not take part in Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, It was reported that a growing number of Russians and Ukrainians are traveling to Mexico, buying throwaway cars and driving across the border into the US to seek asylum.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies agreed they would impose further sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not stop attacking Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian forces in Ukraine are increasingly targeting the civilian population.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, India urged Ukraine and Russia to impose a ceasefire in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy to help evacuate around 700 Indian students trapped there amid worsening conflict.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that the country would not send arms to Ukraine after Ukrainian representatives had asked the country's Senate for arms and military assistance a day earlier.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, NATO allies rejected Ukraine's demand for no-fly zones, saying they were increasing support but that stepping in directly would lead to a broader, even more brutal European war so far limited to Russia's assault on its neighbor.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law legislation that would punish journalists with prison time for publishing news that contradicts officials' statements about Moscow's war in Ukraine.
(Fox News, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Russian troops in Ukraine seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. International monitors said there was no sign that radiation had leaked.
(AP, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny told Russians to protest against the war in Ukraine in Russian cities and across the world on March 6, and accused President Vladmir Putin of bringing shame on the Russian national flag and language.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper, whose editor Dmitry Muratov was a co-winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, said it would remove material on Russia's military actions in Ukraine from its website because of censorship. The newspaper said it would continue to report on the consequences that Russia is facing, including a deepening economic crisis and the persecution of dissidents.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the situation in Ukraine was worsening and it must not be allowed to escalate, adding Turkey would keep its air space open.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, The United Nations Human Rights Council voted decisively to set up an international tribunal to investigate possible war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine.
(NY Times, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Microsoft Corp said it was suspending new sales of its products and services in Russia, becoming the latest Western company to distance itself from Moscow after the Ukraine invasion. Several major companies, including Apple Inc, Nike and Dell Technologies, have severed connections with Russia.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 5, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, directed cybersecurity enthusiasts to a Telegram channel that contained instructions for knocking Russian websites offline.
(NY Times, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, Kyiv's cyber watchdog agency said Ukrainian websites have been under nonstop attack from Russian hackers since the Kremlin launched an invasion of the country last month.
(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, In western Ukraine thousands of women and children, many weeping and numb with exhaustion, arrived in Lviv as the state railway put on more trains to rescue people from fierce Russian attacks on eastern cities.
(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, In eastern Ukraine Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said shelling from the Russian side has destroyed half of a convoy of buses his team had readied for the evacuation of people. Near-constant bombardment by encircling Russian forces has cut off food, water, power and heating supplies to the city.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 5, Russia continued its broad offensive in Ukraine, pummeling cities and towns. Ukrainian officials said that Russia was not abiding by a limited cease-fire for the besieged city of Mariupol. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said thousands of people had gathered for safe passage out of the city and buses were departing when shelling began. President Vladimir Putin said that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war and warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be tantamount to entering the conflict. The Kremlin said that the West was behaving like a bandit by cutting economic relations over the conflict in Ukraine.
(NY Times, 3/5/22)(AP, 3/5/22)(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, Russia's defence ministry said no one made use of two humanitarian corridors set up near Ukraine's cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha and accused Ukrainian "nationalists" of preventing civilians from leaving.
(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, A UN monitoring mission said at least 351 civilians are confirmed to have been killed in Ukraine since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24, and another 707 wounded, although the true numbers are probably "considerably higher".
(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed directly to Russians to take to the streets in protest against the Kremlin's invasion of his country or risk their own poverty and repression.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, The Ukrainian armed forces' general staff said more than 11,000 Russian troops have been killed since Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. It did not report Ukrainian casualties.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, Ukraine's state-run railway operator said it is ready to organize agricultural exports by rail as a matter of urgency, after closure of the country's Black Sea ports because of the military invasion by Russia.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his campaign in Ukraine was going to plan and would not end until Kyiv stopped fighting, as efforts to evacuate 200,000 people from the heavily bombarded city of Mariupol fell apart for a second day in a row.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, In Russia more than 4,300 people were detained at protests across the country against President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The interior ministry said 1,700 people had been detained in Moscow, 750 in St Petersburg and 1,061 in other cities. The OVD-Info protest monitoring group said it had documented the detention of at least 4,366 people in 56 different cities.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, Russian soldiers fired a mortar that killed civilians as they were trying to evacuate Iprin, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv.
(NY Times, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 6, Visitors to a defense show in Saudi Arabia were met with the surreal sight of seeing the latest Ukrainian and Russian military hardware competing for attention in pristine exhibition halls.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians in Ukraine, adding that Washington was documenting them to support appropriate organizations in their potential war crimes investigation over Russia's actions.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, The United Nations refugee agency updated the count of people who have fled Ukraine since the war began to 1.5 million.
(NY Times, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, Pope Francis rejected Russia's use of the term "special military operation" for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the country was being battered by war and urging an immediate end to the fighting.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 7, Ukraine's government said it has helped evacuate about 20,000 Indian students from areas attacked by Russian forces but another 2,000 foreign students are still trapped in besieged towns and cities.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, PM Boris Johnson rejected calls for Britain to ease visa demands on Ukrainian refugees fleeing conflict, saying Britain was a generous country but it needed to maintain checks on who was arriving. Johnson said his government was pledging another 175 million pounds ($230.28 million) in aid for Ukraine to help it deal with a growing humanitarian crisis.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Russia is probably targeting Ukraine's communication infrastructure to reduce access to reliable news sources.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, PM Justin Trudeau, speaking in London, said Canada is announcing new sanctions on 10 individuals close to the Russian leadership over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China's Red Cross will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine "as soon as possible," as he praised his country's friendship with Russia as "rock solid".
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Indian PM Narendra Modi urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in addition to ongoing negotiations.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Russia said it has told Ukraine it is ready to halt military operations "in a moment" if Ukraine ceases military action, changes its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledges Crimea as Russian territory, and recognizes the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Moscow offered Ukrainians escape routes to Russia and its close ally Belarus, drawing cries of outrage from Ukraine, where officials said a bread factory had been hit by an air strike in the latest Russian bombardment.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Kira Yarmysh, spokeswoman for jailed Russian opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny, urged women across the country to use Tuesday's International Women's Day to demand an end to Russia's war on Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Russian forces resumed their attack on the port city of Mykolaiv after being repelled during three days of fighting.
(NY Times, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Vladimir Lisin, a Russian billionaire, told employees at steelmaker NLMK that lost lives in Ukraine were a tragedy that was hard to justify, and called for a peaceful diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 8, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Britain’s Parliament, echoing Winston Churchill during World War II: “We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets." Zelenskiy signed a decree recalling all peacekeeping forces and equipment, including helicopters, in order to assist in the war effort at home.
(NY Times, 3/9/22)(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 8, The Ukrainian military claimed early today to have shot down three Russian fighter jets and a cruise missile. Nearly 1,000 towns and villages in Ukraine were now without electricity, water and heat, and some areas lacked medicine. The Ukrainian government accused Russian forces of shelling a humanitarian corridor it had promised to open to let residents flee the besieged port of Mariupol as the civilian death toll in the conflict mounted.
(NY Times, 3/8/22)(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, Ukraine Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said 61 hospitals in Ukraine are not operational because of attacks by Russian forces. The Kyiv government accused Russian forces of shelling a humanitarian corridor that Moscow had promised to open to let residents flee the besieged port of Mariupol.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, A Ukrainian government official said major cryptocurrency exchanges staying put in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine will suffer a public backlash against their business around the world.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, CEO Mike Greenley said Canada's MDA Inc is providing Ukraine with real-time satellite images taken at night and through cloud cover to support its fight against Russia.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for "maximum restraint" in Ukraine and said China is "pained to see the flames of war reignited in Europe." Xi, speaking at a virtual meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the three countries should jointly support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, It was reported that the Chinese government is scrubbing the country’s media of sympathetic or accurate coverage of Ukraine and systematically amplifying pro-Putin talking points about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Axios, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, The European Union said it has taken in two million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and millions more will follow.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, It was reported that The European Commission has prepared a new package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine that will hit additional Russian oligarchs and politicians and three Belarusian banks.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, Lithuania rolled out a cutting edge digital information campaign that will personally contact up to 40 million Russians in a bid to stop the war in Ukraine.
(PR Newswire, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there were credible reports that Russia was targeting civilians in Ukraine and urged Moscow to end the conflict, also vowing not to let it spread.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, Pres. Vladimir Putin said Russia will not use any conscript soldiers in Ukraine in a televised message to mark International Women's Day.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, US President Joe Biden announced a US ban on Russian oil and other energy imports, ramping up a pressure campaign on Moscow in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. Oil prices surged as the United States and Britain moved to ban Russian oil imports. Biden predicted prices would rise further as a result of "Putin's war," but pledged to do all he could to minimize the impact on the American people.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, The Vatican's Secretary of State told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that the Holy See wants armed attacks in Ukraine to stop and humanitarian corridors to be guaranteed.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 9, Ukraine said there was a danger of a radiation leak at the Chernobyl nuclear power station after electricity was cut off to the plant, but the UN nuclear watchdog saw "no critical impact on security".
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Ukraine accused Russia of bombing a children's hospital in the besieged port of Mariupol during a supposed ceasefire to enable some of the hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the city to escape. Ukraine said at least 1,170 civilians have been killed in Mariupol since the start of the Russian invasion. Mariupol deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov said 47 were buried in a mass grave today.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Defense minister Ben Wallace said Britain is planning to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles to help it defend its skies from Russian invasion.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, The UK Ministry of Defense said Russia has confirmed its use of a thermobaric weapon system, or "vacuum" bombs, during Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Thermobaric bombs are capable of sucking the air out of person's lungs, causing them to fill with liquid, or causing a person's lungs to rupture or explode. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby, meanwhile, said that he has seen "no indications" that Russia has used thermobaric weapons in Ukraine.
(Fox News, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a call that Canada will send Ukraine another shipment of highly-specialized military equipment. Trudeau also invited Zelenskiy to address Canada's parliament.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, The EU said it was stepping up sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including targeting more Russian individuals and adding banks in Moscow's ally Belarus. The EU blacklisted the CEO of Russian airline Aeroflot, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov's son-in-law and more oligarchs in a fresh round of sanctions.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Russia said the United States must explain what Moscow claims was a military biological program in Ukraine - an allegation Washington has already dismissed as "absurd" misinformation.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Russia's defense ministry admitted to its use of conscripts in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, despite President Vladimir Putin’s repeated insistence that Kremlin military forces only consisted of professional fighters.
(Fox News, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Russia's Defence Ministry said that nearly 180,000 people had been evacuated from Ukraine to Russia since the start of the conflict on Feb. 24. Russia's defence ministry published a promotional video called "Z Heroes", using the "V" and "Z" to spell out the words for bravery, heroism and strength in truth.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, US congressional leaders reached a bipartisan agreement early to allocate $13.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine and provide $15.6 billion to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 10, Ukraine's foreign minister said Moscow had refused during talks to guarantee humanitarian access to rescue civilians trapped under bombardment. The United Nations said more than 2.3 million people had now fled Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, Britain said it will streamline a system next week to allow Ukrainians to enter the country, after an outcry over a requirement for people fleeing Russia's invasion to get biometric tests before being allowed in.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, It was reported that China's censors, who quietly determine what can be discussed on the country's buzzing social media platforms, are silencing views of citizens protesting against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, The Polish ambassador to Kyiv said imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine would help bring the conflict there to a faster conclusion and save lives.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, The Biden administration accused Russia of using the UN Security Council to promote disinformation from Moscow ahead of March 11 meeting on allegations of US “biological activities" in Ukraine — a charge made without any evidence and denied by both Washington and Kyiv.
(AP, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, The US Senate approved legislation providing $1.5 trillion to fund the federal government through Sept. 30 and to allocate $13.6 billion to aid Ukraine. President Joe Biden was expected to sign the bill into law, averting agency shutdowns ahead of the March 11 midnight deadline.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, The US House of Representatives voted to rush $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine as it battles invading Russian forces, along with $1.5 trillion to keep US government programs operating through Sept. 30 and avoid agency shutdowns this weekend.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, Vice President Harris, during a trip to Warsaw, Poland, announced more than $50 million in additional humanitarian assistance for people displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Harris also called for an international war crimes investigation into Russia’s bombing of civilians in Ukraine.
(The Hill, 3/10/22)(The Independent, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 11, Ukraine accused Russian forces of bombing and shelling cities across the country, including hitting a psychiatric hospital near the eastern town of Izyum where hundreds of patients were sheltering in the basement. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared that Ukraine had reached a strategic turning point in its fight with Russia, which he said was relying on conscripts, reservists and Syrian mercenaries to prop up its invasion force.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, An adviser to Ukraine's president said Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Russian jets carried out what Ukraine said was a false-flag attack on Belarusian villages.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, The head of Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said Russian officials have attempted to enter and take full operational control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, In southeastern Ukraine the Mariupol city council said at least 1,582 civilians in city as a result of Russian shelling and a 12-day blockade. UN agencies said more than 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said it has confirmed the deaths of 564 civilians in Ukraine since Feb. 24, including 41 children. The real toll is thought to be considerably higher.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light for up to 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East to be deployed alongside Russian-backed rebels to fight in Ukraine, doubling down an invasion that the West says has been losing momentum.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, Russian forces renewed their ground offensive and widened their bombardment of Ukraine, targeting locations far from the front lines while continuing to pummel cities already devastated by fighting. Russian forces in Melitopol kidnapped Mayor Ivan Fedorov. American defense officials estimated that invading pilots were averaging 200 sorties a day, compared with 5-10 for Ukrianian forces.
(NY Times, 3/11/22)(Reuters, 3/12/22)(SFC, 3/12/22, p.A2)
2022 Mar 11, Russian authorities initiated the process of declaring Facebook’s parent company, Meta, an “extremist organization," and started blocking access to Instagram, after the company allowed users to call for violence against Russian soldiers in the context of the continuing invasion of Ukraine..
(NY Times, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny called for anti-war protests in Moscow and other cities on March 13.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, The United States imposed sanctions on Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, three family members of President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson and lawmakers in the latest punishment for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, It was reported that Russia's baseless claims about secret American biological warfare labs in Ukraine are taking root in the US too, uniting COVID-19 conspiracy theorists, QAnon adherents and some supporters of ex-President Donald Trump.
(AP, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was sending in new troops after Ukrainian forces had put 31 of its battalion tactical groups out of action. He said 500-600 Russian troops had surrendered a day earlier and that about 1,300 Ukrainian troops had been killed since the conflict began.
(Reuters, 3/12/22)
2022 Mar 12, Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said the eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha has been completely destroyed following the Russian invasion but fighting continued for territory there to prevent a Russian encirclement. Russian forces reportedly shelled a mosque in the southern port city of Mariupol, where more than 80 adults and children, including Turkish citizens, have taken refuge.
(Reuters, 3/12/22)
2022 Mar 12, Russian forces intensified their campaign of devastation aimed at cities and towns across Ukraine, including in the capital, Kyiv. Russian rocket attacks destroyed a Ukrainian airbase and hit an ammunition depot near the town of Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region.
(NY Times, 3/12/22)(Reuters, 3/12/22)
2022 Mar 12, In Italy thousands of people packed into one of Florence's biggest squares to show their support for Ukraine and listen to a videoed speech from Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, Ukraine’s attorney general said at least 85 children have died and nearly 100 have been wounded in the fighting in Ukraine. The city council of Mariupol said the city is running out of its last reserves of food and water, adding that Russian forces blockading the city continued to shell non-military targets.
(NY Times, 3/13/22)(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, Ukraine said it is working with Israel and Turkey as mediators to finalize a location and framework for peace negotiations with Russia.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, It was reported that Britain will pay people to open their homes to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion as the government moves to deflect anger over its response to the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, In Cyprus dozens of Russian nationals joined Ukrainians in the coastal resort town of Limassol, home to a sizeable Russian expatriate community, to protest the war in Ukraine.
(AP, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, India said it has decided to temporarily relocate its embassy in Ukraine to Poland.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, In Italy a bus carrying Ukrainians in northern Italy overturned this morning, killing one person.
(NY Times, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, Russia launched a barrage of airstrikes at a military base near the Polish border that killed at least 35 people and brought the war perilously closer to NATO’s doorstep. Brent Renaud (50), an award-winning American filmmaker and journalist, was killed while reporting in a suburb of Kyiv. Russia installed a new “acting mayor" in Melitopol. A Russian airstrike killed 9 civilians in Mykolaiv.
(NY Times, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, In Russia protests against the war in Ukraine were taking place in at least 20 cities, as small numbers of people continue to defy a crackdown on dissent. By midday, police had detained more than 250 demonstrators. OVD-Info said more than 860 people were detained in 36 cities.
(NY Times, 3/13/22)(SFC, 3/14/22, p.A4)
2022 Mar 13, At the Vatican a somber Pope Francis issued his toughest condemnation yet of the invasion of Ukraine, saying the "unacceptable armed aggression" and "massacre" must stop.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 14, Ukraine said it held "hard" talks on a ceasefire, immediate withdrawal of troops and security guarantees with Russia, despite the fatal shelling of a residential building in Kyiv. The talks paused and will continue tomorrow. A convoy of over 160 cars left Mariupol, in what appeared to be the first successful attempt to arrange a "humanitarian corridor" to evacuate civilians from the encircled city.
(Reuters, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 14, In Ukraine Fox News cameraman, Pierre Zakrzewski (55) and Ukrainian journalist, Oleksandra Kuvshynova (24) were killed while were traveling in the same vehicle as the Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was injured in the attack in the town of Horenka.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 14, Russia's defense ministry said that 20 civilians had been killed and 28 wounded when a Ukrainian missile with a cluster charge exploded in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk. The ministry provided no evidence and Ukraine denied launching an attack.
(Reuters, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 14, Russian fertilizer and coal billionaire Andrei Melnichenko said a global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertilizer prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients.
(Reuters, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 14, The UN said that the number of refugees who have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24 has topped 2.8 million.
(AFP, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 14, Martin Griffiths, the United Nations humanitarian chief, announced that the UN would allocate $40 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to increase aid to some of the most vulnerable people affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(The Hill, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stepped up his appeals to Russian soldiers and citizens appalled by the war as evidence grew that Russia’s advance had stalled across multiple fronts. Two missile strikes destroyed the runway and damaged the terminal building of the Dnipro airport. Russian air strikes and shelling hit Kyiv killing at least four people.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)(Reuters, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleading for more Western support and asked Canadian lawmakers in a video address to imagine the impact of such a war on their own country.
(Reuters, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, In Ukraine an estimated 4,000 cars, or 20,000 people, left Mariupol as humanitarian corridors partially opened.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, called on the international community to support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine “to help de-escalate the situation as soon as possible".
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, The European Union formally approved a new barrage of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which include bans on investments in the Russian energy sector, luxury goods exports and imports of steel products from Russia. The EU banned top credit rating firms from rating Russia's sovereign debt and the country's companies as part of its latest sanctions package.
(Reuters, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, Leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled to Kyiv to express solidarity with Ukraine in a visit that was kept secret until the last minute.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, Poland's ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced the idea of a peacekeeping mission during a trip to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
(Reuters, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 15, Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin threw cold water on prospects of an imminent breakthrough as talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire ended without an agreement.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 16, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made an urgent and emotional appeal to the US Congress to come to his country’s aid as it fights off a Russian invasion. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine’s armed forces are launching counteroffensives against Russian forces "in several operational areas".
(NY Times, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainians in Voznesensk "eliminated most of a Russian battalion tactical group on March 2 and 3," killing an estimated 100 Russians and capturing or destroying 30 of 43 Russian tanks and other vehicles.
(AP, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 16, Defense minister Ben Wallace said Britain is supplying starstreak anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, In the Netherlands the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Russia to stop the military actions it started in Ukraine on Feb. 24.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, Russia said that some parts of a possible peace deal with Ukraine were close to being agreed after Kyiv agreed to discuss neutrality, raising hopes of an end to the biggest war in Europe since World War Two. President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would achieve its goals in Ukraine and would not submit to what he called a Western attempt to achieve global dominance and dismember Russia.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, Russian forces bombed a theater where civilians were sheltering in Ukraine's encircled port city of Mariupol. Three people were killed and five wounded after shelling caused a fire at a market in the eastern city of Kharkiv. Local officials in Mariupol have tallied more than 2,500 deaths in the siege. Russia's military assault on the city of Chernihiv killed at least 53 people.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)(SFC, 3/17/22, p.A5)(CBS News, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 16, The United States and its allies launched a multilateral task force to tackle Russian oligarchs, increasing cooperation on freezing assets as the West steps up pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell urged President Joe Biden to expand Ukraine's air defenses, bolster the presence of US forces on NATO's eastern flank and visit eastern European countries.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, A US Air Force cargo jet began shipping helmets and other non-lethal military kit donated by Japan to Ukraine, marking the first time an American aircraft has carried Japanese Self Defense Force gear to another country.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill (75) of the Russian Orthodox Church discussed the war in Ukraine, the first known contact between the two religious leaders since the conflict began. Kirill, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has made statements defending Moscow's actions in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking to the Bundestag by videolink, urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to tear down what he called a wall between "free and unfree" Europe and stop the war in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down 10 Russian planes and cruise missiles. 21 people were killed by Russian artillery that destroyed a school and a community center in Merefa, near the northeast city of Kharkiv. Russian Colonel Sergei Sukharev, of the 331st Guards Parachute Assault Regiment from Kostroma, and his deputy Major Sergei Krylov were killed. Senior sergeant Sergei Lebedev, sergeant Alexander Limonov, corporal Yuri Degtyarev, and captain Alexei Nikitin – of the same paratroop regiment – were also killed.
(NY Times, 3/18/22)(CBS News, 3/18/22)(The Independent, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 17, In Ukraine Viacheslav Chaus, governor of the region centered on the frontline northern city of Chernihiv, said 53 civilians had been killed there in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, IRC head Peter Maurer said the International Committee of the Red Cross has called on the warring parties to allow safe passage out of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol and allow aid in.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that Ukraine is asking Japan for high-quality satellite imagery to help it fend off Russian troops.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Russia’s warships on the Black Sea launched missiles at towns around Odessa, but its ground forces remained more than 80 miles away. Conservative US estimates put more than 7,000 Russian troops killed in less than three weeks of fighting. Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine continued for a fourth straight day.
(NY Times, 3/17/22)(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed NATO for the war in Ukraine and said he would resist calls to condemn Russia.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan offered in a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to host him and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy for talks.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Uzbekistan, a Central Asian republic with close ties to Russia, called for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict in Ukraine and said it would not recognize Moscow-backed separatist statelets there.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Arnold Schwarzenegger debunked Russian disinformation about the war on Ukraine and told President Vladimir V. Putin: “You started this war. You are leading this war. You can stop this war".
(NY Times, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 18, President Vladimir Putin justified the invasion of Ukraine before a packed soccer stadium. Russian missiles struck the outskirts of the western city of Lviv, which had been a haven. Several missiles hit an aircraft repair plant in Lviv. Russian forces remain stalled outside Kyiv, taking heavy casualties.
(Reuters, 3/18/22)(NY Times, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 18, Ukraine's defense ministry said it has lost access to the Sea of Azov "temporarily" as invading Russian forces were tightening their grip around the port of Mariupol. A Russian strike on barracks in the southern city of Mykolaiv killed more than 40 marines.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)(NY Times, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 18, Russian shelling killed 9 people and left 17 wounded in suburbs of the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine. Russian forces pushed deeper into the battered port city of Mariupol, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)(AP, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 18, The UN rights office said that at least 816 civilians had been killed and 1,333 wounded in Ukraine through to March 17. The real toll is thought to be considerably higher.
(Reuters, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 18, Six Western nations (US, UK, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway) accused Russia of using the UN Security Council to launder disinformation, spread propaganda and justify an unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
(AP, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 18, A World Food Program (WFP) official said that food supply chains in Ukraine were collapsing, with a portion of infrastructure destroyed and many grocery stores and warehouses empty.
(Reuters, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow to stop its invasion of Ukraine, saying it would otherwise take Russia "several generations" to recover from its losses in the war.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 19, In Ukraine a humanitarian corridor opened for evacuations in the Luhansk region. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said that 112 children have been killed so far in the war.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 19, Russia said it had used hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles to destroy a large weapons depot in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region. Russia also said it destroyed military radio and reconnaissance centers near the Ukrainian port city of Odessa using the Bastion coastal missile system.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 19, Russia pushed into the center of the besieged city of Mariupol, moving closer to linking its forces in Ukraine’s south with separatist allies in the east. Local authorities said thousands of residents over the past week had been taken by force to Russian territory. Russian forces bombed an art school in Mariupol, where about 400 residents had taken shelter.
(NY Times, 3/19/22)(Reuters, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 19, The Wall Street Journal reported that top commander of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) intelligence agency has been placed under house arrest amid upheaval and infighting among officials as President Vladimir Putin fumes over the botched Ukraine invasion. The NY Times reported that a second FSB official was also under house arrest.
(Huffpost, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 20, It was reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed a decree that combines all national TV channels into one platform, citing the importance of a "unified information policy" under martial law.
(Reuters, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 20, In Ukraine some 50 staff members who have been held hostage for weeks by Russians at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were rotated out and replaced by a group of 46 employees.
(Fox News, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 20, Russia struck Ukraine with cruise missiles overnight and early today from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and launched hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace.
(Reuters, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 20, Pope Francis, continuing his implicit criticism of Russia, called the conflict in Ukraine an unjustified "senseless massacre" and urged leaders to stop "this repugnant war".
(Reuters, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 21, Ukraine rejected Russia’s demand that soldiers defending the embattled southern port of Mariupol surrender at dawn today, even as a powerful blast rocked the capital Kyiv and reduced a sprawling shopping mall to rubble.
(NY Times, 3/21/22)
2022 Mar 21, Ukraine's armed forces said Russian troops used stun grenades and gunfire to disperse a rally of pro-Ukrainian protesters in the occupied southern city of Kherson.
(Reuters, 3/21/22)
2022 Mar 21, Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom warned that radiation levels around the occupied Chernobyl nuclear plant risked rising because its radiation monitoring system and forest fire-fighting service were not working.
(Reuters 3/21/22)
2022 Mar 21, The Chinese Red Cross said it will offer an additional 10 million yuan ($1.57 million) of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/21/22)
2022 Mar 21, Russia's main intelligence agency said several hundred mines had drifted into the Black Sea after breaking off from cables near Ukrainian ports, a claim dismissed by Ukraine which said it was disinformation and an attempt to close off parts of the sea.
(Reuters 3/21/22)
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Viburnum opulus (kalyna) is the national symbol of Ukraine.
(SSFC, 3/25/12, p.N2)
Pinterest: http://tinyurl.com/gvuptx2
Travel Docs: http://www.traveldocs.com/ua/index.htm
1500BC Chersonesos on the edge of Sevastopol was the Greek world’s most northern colony.
(SFC,12/190/97, p.F6)
400-300BC A mint of this time served Chersonesos with a population of 10,000 to 20,000.
(SFC,12/190/97, p.F6)
911AD Sep 2, Viking monarch Oleg of Kiev, Russia, signed a treaty with the Byzantines.
(MC, 9/2/01)
988 Prince Vladimir of Kiev, Volodymyr the Great, accepted Byzantine Orthodoxy. This is the traditional date for the beginning of Russian Christianity. The Kievan Rus ruler was baptized in the ancient Crimean Greek city of Chersonesus before bringing Christianity to the region.
(SSFC, 6/24/01, p.A14)(AP, 8/1/15)(AP, 7/28/18)
1015 Vladimir I (b.958), a prince of Novgorod and grand prince of Kiev, died. He had married the sister of Byzantine Emp. Basil II and was baptized in Crimea. Originally a Slavic pagan, Vladimir had converted to Christianity in 988 and Christianized the Kievan Rus. His domain split into warring fiefs that eventually gave rise to Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_I_of_Kiev)(Econ, 11/5/16, p.44)
1237-1240 Mongols conquered Russian lands.
(DVD, Criterion, 1998)
1240 Dec 6, Mongols under Batu Khan occupied and destroyed Kiev.
(MC, 12/6/01)
1347-1350 The Black Death: A Genoese trading post in the Crimea was besieged by an army of Kipchaks from Hungary and Mongols from the East. The latter brought with them a new form of plague, Yersinia pestis. Infected dead bodies were catapulted into the Genoese town. One Genoese ship managed to escape and brought the disease to Messina, Sicily. The disease quickly became an epidemic. It moved over the next few years to northern Italy, North Africa, France, Spain, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, the Low Countries, England, Scandinavia and the Baltic. There were lesser outbreaks in many cities for the next twenty years. An estimated 25 million died in Europe and economic depression followed. In 2005 John Kelly authored “The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time."
(NG, 5/88, p.678)(WSJ, 1/11/99, p.R42)(SSFC, 3/6/05, p.B1)(SFC, 10/13/11, p.A6)
1399 Aug 12, The Battle of the Vorskla River (Ukraine) was a great battle in the medieval history of Eastern Europe. It was fought between the Tatars, under Edigu and Temur Qutlugh, and the armies of Tokhtamysh and Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania. The battle ended in a decisive Tatar victory.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Europe)
1399 Chersonesos in the southern Crimean peninsula, the Byzantine world’s largest trading outpost, was sacked by the Mongols.
(SFC,12/190/97, p.F6)
1399 Russian chronicles state that when Kiev was threatened by the Tartars, Kiev citizens had to pay to Khan Timur Kutluk a contribution of 3000 Lithuanian roubles.
(VilNews, 12/17/10)
1418 Feb 25, At the Constance church synod the Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Lithuania, Gregory Camblak, proposed a union between the Orthodox and Catholic church.
(LHC, 2/25/03)
1478 Russia’s Ivan the Great destabilized territory under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania much of which later became Ukraine. The policy was designed to encourage people living along the frontier to seek Muscovy’s protection.
(Econ, 9/20/14, p.16)
1482 Sep 1, Krim-Tataren plundered Kiev.
(MC, 9/1/02)
1595 Dec, Bogdan Khmelnitsky (d.1657), leader of the Ukrainian Cossacks, was born.
(SSFC, 2/9/03, p.C14)
1648 May 6, Battle at Zolty Wody-Bohdan: Chmielricki's Cossacks beat John II Casimir.
(MC, 5/6/02)
1648 Jun 24, Cossacks slaughtered 2,000 Jews and 600 Polish Catholics in Ukraine.
(MC, 6/24/02)
1648 Jul 22, Some 10,000 Jews of Polannoe were murdered in a massacre led by Cossack Bogdan Chmielnicki (55).
(PC, 1992, p.241)(MC, 7/22/02)
1648 Sep 21, In Poland at the Battle at Pilawce Bohdan Chmielricki beat John II Casimir.
(PCh, 1992, p.241)(MC, 9/21/01)
1648-1649 It is estimated that 100,000-200,000 Jews died in the Chmielnicki (Khmelnytskyi) revolt that lasted from 1648-1649. This wave of destruction is considered the first modern pogrom.
(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Poland.html)
1653 Oct 1, Russian parliament accepted annexation of Ukraine.
(MC, 10/1/01)
1654 Jan 18, The union of Ukraine and Russia was announced at the Council of Pereyaslav, but no original documents have been preserved. A treaty invoked only protection of the Cossack state by the Tsar and was intended as an act of official separation of Ukraine from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Pereyaslav)(Econ, 6/20/15, p.53)
1655 Aug 8, Eastern Lithuania was occupied by Russian and Cossack forces. Western Lithuania was occupied by Swedish forces. Following three days of pillaging Vilnius was burned in a fire the lasted 17 days.
(http://tinyurl.com/pm9nvcc)(http://tinyurl.com/ntyk7sl)
1657 Aug 6, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi (b.1595/6), founder of the Hetman state (Ukraine), died. In 1648 Ukrainian officer Bogdan Chmielnicki, with the support of the Tatar Khan of Crimea, roused the local peasants to fight with him and the Russian Orthodox Cossacks against the Jews.
(http://tinyurl.com/5pe5gf)(www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Poland.html)
1667 Jan 30, Lithuania, Poland and Russia signed a 13.5 year treaty at Andrusov, near Smolensk. Russia received Smolensk and Kiev.
(LHC, 1/30/03)
1709 Jun 27, Russians under Peter the Great defeated the Swedes under Charles XII and Cossacks at the Battle of Poltava. [O.S. See July 8].
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Poltava)
1709 Jul 8, Peter the Great defeated Charles XII at Poltava, in the Ukraine, effectively ending the Swedish empire. [N.S. see June 28].
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Poltava)
1763 Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Crimean Tartars and Ottoman Turks.
(SFC, 2/4/09, p.A5)
1727 May 7, Jews were expelled from Ukraine by Empress Catherine I of Russia.
(MC, 5/7/02)
1779 Mar 31, Russia and Turkey signed a treaty by which they promised to take no military action in the Crimea.
(HN, 3/31/99)
1783 Dec 28, The Ottoman Empire signed an agreement with Russia that recognized the loss of Crimea and other territories that had been held by the Khanate. Catherine the Great annexed the Crimea to the Russian empire. 83% or the residents were Tatars.
{Crimea, Ukraine, Reuters, Turkey}
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_of_Crimea_by_the_Russian_Empire)(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8)(Econ, 2/25/06, p.55)
1789 Russian soldiers under the leadership of Jose Pascual Domingo de Ribas y Boyons (aka Osip Deribas) chased Ottoman forces from the barracks hamlet of Khadjibey. He recognized the site’s potential for a military base to control the mouths of the Danube, Dniester, Dnieper and Bug rivers. Odessa became the name of the city built there.
(Econ, 2/26/11, p.91)
1792 Jan 9, The Treaty of Jassy was signed recognizing Russia's 1783 annexation of the Crimean Khanate.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1787%E2%80%931792))
1794 Jun 23, Empress Catherine II granted Jews permission to settle in Kiev.
(MC, 6/23/02)
1794 Ukraine’s port city of Odessa was founded. Josef de Ribas, a Naples-born adventurer, after leading an assault on a Turkish Black Sea fortress called Yeni-Dunai, convinced Catherine the Great that the site of Odessa would be a good one for a Russian port. A nearby site called Odessos had long been a Greek colony.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.86)
1803 Alexander I chose Frenchman Duc de Richelieu to serve as governor of Odessa (1803-1814). Richelieu imported acacia tress from Vienna and distributed them free to the residents, who lined them on Primorsky Boulevard.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.86)
1809 Mar 31, Nikolai V. Gogol (d.1852), Ukrainian-born Russian writer, was born (NS) in Sorochyntsi, Poltava Governorate (later Ukraine). Some sources give April 1 as his birthday. His work included the play “The Inspector General" (1836) and the novels “Taras Bulba" (1835) and “Dead Souls" (1842).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Gogol)(WSJ, 4/14/09, p.D7)
1810 Oct 16, Rabbi Nachman (b.1772) of Bratslav died and was buried in Uman, Ukraine. Nachman was renowned for his mystical interpretations of Jewish texts and his belief that higher spirituality could be achieved through a combination of prayer, meditation and good deeds. On his deathbed, he is said to have promised to be an advocate for anyone who would come and pray beside his tomb.
(AP, 9/9/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachman_of_Breslov)
1814 Mar 9, Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine’s most famous poet, was born.
(SFC, 3/10/01, p.A8)
1819 Russia declared Odessa to be a free port.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.86)
1829 Sardinian architect Franz Boffo designed Odessa’s stock exchange as a neo-classical palace. In 2004 it housed the city council.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.86)
1830 Nov 29, In Warsaw young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress, Poland's military academy revolted against the Russian Empire. They were led by lieutenant Piotr Wysocki and were soon joined by large segments of societies of Lithuania, Belarus, and the Right-bank Ukraine. Nicholas I ruthlessly repressed the insurrection and by October 1831 Polish forces capitulated.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_Uprising)(WSJ, 4/13/99, p.A16)
1853 Jul, Supported by Britain, the Turks took a firm stand against the Russians, who occupied the Danubian principalities (modern Romania) on the Russo-Turkish border. The Crimean War got under way in October. It was fought mainly on the Crimean Peninsula between the Russians and the British, French, and Ottoman Turkish, with support, from January 1855, by the army of Sardinia-Piedmont. The war aligned Anglican England and Roman Catholic France with Islam’s sultan-caliphs against the tsars, who saw themselves as the world’s last truly Christian emperors.
(www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/143040/Crimean-War)(Econ, 10/2/10, p.89)
1853 Sep 14, The Allies landed at Eupatoria on the west coast of Crimea.
(HN, 9/14/98)
1853 Sep 20, The Allies defeated the Russians at the battle of Alma on the Crimean Peninsula.
(HN, 9/20/98)
1854 Mar 28, During the Crimean War, Britain and France declared war on Russia.
(AP, 3/28/97)
1854 Sep 14, Allied armies, including those of Britain & France, landed in Crimea.
(MC, 9/14/01)
1854 Oct 25, During the Crimean War, a brigade of British light infantry was destroyed by Russian artillery as they charged down a narrow corridor in full view of the Russians. The Crimean War is largely remembered for the Charge of the Light Brigade, a hopeless but gallant British cavalry charge against a heavily defended Russian force. The battle began when the Russians attacked the British-French supply depot at Balaclava, some eight miles from Sevastopol, on the Black Sea Crimean Peninsula. Taken by surprise, the British counterattacked but failed to follow up. Through a staff error, Gen. Lord Cardigan's Light Brigade of 673 horsemen was ordered to charge the Russian position through a mile-long valley and prevent them from carrying away some captured cannon. The Light Brigade advanced up the valley, taking casualties all the way, and reached the guns. But once there, they could not hold their position and were forced to retreat. Of the 673 men who took part in the senseless charge, only 195 were present at roll call that night. The Charge of the Light Brigade ended the battle, but Balaclava remained in the hands of the British-French Allies. The event was described in a poem by Tennyson. French General Bosquet remarked "It is magnificent, but it is not war."
(AP, 10/25/97)(HNPD, 10/25/98)(HN, 10/25/98)(MC, 10/25/01)
1854 Nov 4, Florence Nightingale and her nurses arrived in the Crimea.
(HN, 11/4/98)
1854 Nov 5, The British and French defeated the Russians at Inkerman, Crimea.
(HN, 11/5/98)
1855 Jun 17, Heavy French-British shelling of Sebastopol killed over 2000.
(MC, 6/17/02)
1855 Sep 9, Sevastopol, under siege for nearly a year, fell to the Allies. France, England, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia (as Italy was then known) defeated the Russians at Sevastopol in the decisive battle of the Crimean War.
{France, Britain, Turkey, Italy, Russia}
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War)(SFC, 7/27/13, p.C2)
1855 Nov 26, Several thousand people staged a parade and banquet at South Park, SF, to celebrate the Allied victory over the Russians in the Crimean War, the capture of the Malakoff fortress in Sevastopol.
(SFC, 7/21/00, p.WBb3)
1855 The English Commons voted for an inquiry into the conduct of the Crimean campaign.
(Econ, 11/4/06, p.67)
1856 Mar 30, Russia signed the Treaty of Paris ending the Crimean War. It guaranteed the integrity of Ottoman Turkey and obliged Russia to surrender southern Bessarabia, at the mouth of the Danube. The Black Sea was neutralized, and the Danube River was opened to the shipping of all nations. In 2010 Allen Lane authored “Crimea: The Last Crusade."
(www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/143040/Crimean-War)
1859 Feb 18, Shalom Aleichem (Solomon Rabinowitz, d.1916), Russian-Yiddish playwright, author and humorist, was born in the Ukraine. "To want to be the cleverest of all is the biggest folly."
(AP, 1/13/01)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sholem_Aleichem)
1861 Mar 10, Taras Shevchenko (b.1814), Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, died in St. Petersburg. He was a member of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood and an academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Shevchenko propounded an ethnic nationalism that divided Ukraine from its imperial Russian masters. His poetry helped codify the Ukrainian language.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taras_Shevchenko)(AP, 3/9/14)(Econ, 10/22/16, p.44)
1871 A pogrom took place against the Jews in Odessa and the governor made no effort to suppress it.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.88)
1881 May 5, Anti-Jewish rioting took place in Kiev, Ukraine.
(MC, 5/5/02)
1881 A large pogrom took place against the Jews in Odessa.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.88)
1887 Geographers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire set fixed points to measure altitude in connection with the European measurement of meridional and parallel degrees. One marker at Rakhiv, Ukraine, was later mis-interpreted to mark the center of Europe.
(WSJ, 7/14/04, p.A1)
1890 Feb 28, Vaslav Nijinsky, ballet dancer (3/12 NS), was born in Kiev, Ukraine. He was the pre-eminent ballet artist of his day and at 20 became the protege and lover of Sergei Diaghilev. He spent some time in psychotherapy during which he made a number of abstract drawings. Nijinsky died in 1950 in London. [see Mar 12]
(SFC, 9/29/97, p.E5)(MC, 2/28/02)
1890 Mar 12, Vasav Nijinsky (d.1950), Russian dancer, was born. He was considered the world's greatest ballet dancer. [see Feb 28]
(HN, 3/12/99)
1890 A metalic likeness of Catherine the Great was erected in Simferepol, the capital of Crimea, to commemorate the century of her capture of the peninsula.
(Econ, 6/8/19, p.48)
1891 Jan 20, Mischa Elman, US violinist, was born in Talnoye, Ukraine.
(MC, 1/20/02)
1891 Jan 26, Ilya G. Ehrenburg, writer, propagandist (Fall of Paris, The Thaw), was born in Kiev, Ukraine.
(MC, 1/26/02)
1891 Apr 23, Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev, composer (Peter & the Wolf), was born in Ukraine. [see Apr 27]
(MC, 4/23/02)
1891 Apr 27, Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev, composer, was born. [see Apr 23]
(MC, 4/27/02)
1898 May 3, Golda Mier (d.1978), 4th Prime Minister of Israel (1969-1974) and the first woman PM, was born in Kiev, Ukraine. "Whether women are better than men, I cannot say -- but I can say they are certainly no worse."
(AP, 5/11/97)(HN, 5/3/02)(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golda_Meir)
1898 Oct 1, Jews were expelled from Kiev, Russia.
(MC, 10/1/01)
1904 Oct 1, Vladimir Horowitz, Russian-born American virtuoso pianist, was born in Kiev, Ukraine.
(HN, 10/1/98)(MC, 10/1/01)
1905 Another large pogrom took place against the Jews in Odessa, Ukraine. Many began to leave, mainly for the USA.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.88)
1906 Jul 23, Pogroms took place against Jews in Odessa.
(MC, 7/23/02)
1906 Dec 19, Leonid Brezhnev, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist arty and President of the Supreme Soviet from 1964 until 1982, was born in the Ukraine.
(HN, 12/19/98)(MC, 12/19/01)
1906 Lew Grade (born Louis Winogradsky; d.1998 at 91), was born in Tokmak. He went to London at age 6 and in 1955 founded Associated Television, the first commercially funded channel in Britain.
(SFC, 12/14/98, p.C4)
1908 Sep 30, David Oistrakh, violinist and professor at the Moscow Conservatory, was born in Odessa, Russia (Ukraine).
(HN, 9/30/00)(MC, 9/30/01)
1911 Sep 14, Russian Premier Piotr Stolypin was mortally wounded in an assassination attempt at the Kiev opera house.
(HN, 9/14/98)
1911 Sep 18, Russian Premier Piotr Stolypin (b.1862) died four days after being shot at the Kiev opera house by socialist lawyer Dimitri Bogroff. As governor of the Saratov province, Stolypin ruthlessly suppressed local peasant uprisings, and helped to squelch the revolutionary upheavals of 1905. As Prime Minister, Stolypin initiated major agrarian reforms that granted the right of private land ownership to the peasantry.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Stolypin)
1913 Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935), Ukraine artist, designed the costumes for the opera “Victory Over the Sun."
(Econ, 10/26/13, p.96)(Econ, 12/21/13, SR p.5)
1914 Mar 20, Svyatoslav Richter, pianist (Stalin Prize-1945), was born in Zhitomir, Ukraine.
(MC, 3/20/02)
1914 Oct 29, A Turkish fleet including 2 German cruisers stormed the Black Sea and bombarded Odessa, Sevastopol and Theodosia. [see Nov 2]
(PC, 1992, p.706)
1915 Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935), Ukraine born pioneer of abstract art, painted "Suprematist Cross in Black Square." It featured a dark black square against a white background and was "emblematic of the avant-garde belief that abstraction penetrated to the essence of things, on which basis the world could be reinvented."
(SFC, 5/28/98, p.E5)(WSJ, 10/5/05, p.D14)(Econ, 10/26/13, p.96)
1916 Oct 19, Emil Gilels, pianist (Brussels Competition-1938), was born in Odessa, Ukraine.
(MC, 10/19/01)
1917 Jun 29, The Ukraine proclaimed independence from Russia.
(HN, 6/29/98)
1918 Feb 14, Warsaw demonstrators protested the transfer of Polish territory to the Ukraine.
(HN, 2/14/98)
1918 Feb 22, Germany claimed the Baltic states, Finland and Ukraine from Russia.
(MC, 2/22/02)
1918 Feb 20, The Soviet Red Army seized Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine.
(HN, 2/20/98)
1918 Mar 3, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russian participation in World War I. Germany and Austria forced Soviet Russia to sign the Peace of Brest, which called for the establishment of 5 independent countries: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russian participation in World War I, was annulled by the November 1918 armistice. The treaty deprived the Soviets of White Russia.
(HN, 3/3/99)(LHC, 3/1/03)(AP, 3/3/08)
1918 Mar 22, Ukrainian mobs massacred the Jews of Seredino Buda. Other sites date the event to March 8 and March 9.
(www.ukraine-observer.com/articles/205/612)
1919 Feb, The Polish–Soviet War began and continued to March 1921. It was an armed conflict between Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine against the Second Polish Republic and the Ukrainian People's Republic, four states in post-World War I Europe.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish-Soviet_War)
1919 Aug 10, Ukrainian National Army massacred 25 Jews in Podolia, Ukraine.
(MC, 8/10/02)
1919 Aug 31, The Ukrainian (Petlyura) Army recaptured Kiev. Petlyura's Ukrainian Army killed 35 members of a Jewish defense group.
(MC, 8/31/01)
1919 Jimmy Winkfield (1882-1974), former US Kentucky Derby winner, helped lead 262 horses from the Odessa (Ukraine) race track to Warsaw, Poland, in a 3-month journey in front of the advancing Red Army.
(SSFC, 5/7/06, p.P8)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Winkfield)
1920 Apr 27, Pogrom leader Petljoera (Petlyura) declared Ukraine Independence.
(MC, 4/27/02)
1920 Isaac Stern (d.2001), Russian-Jewish immigrant to the US and legendary violinist, was born in the Ukraine. His family arrived in San Francisco a year later. In 1960 he saved Carnegie Hall from the wrecking ball.
(SSFC, 9/23/01, p.A24)(SFC, 9/24/01, p.G1)
1921 Oct 18, Russian Soviets granted Crimean independence.
(HN, 10/18/98)
1922 Dec 30, Vladimir I. Lenin proclaimed the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Soviet Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Soviet Union was organized as a federation of RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, Belorussian SSR and Transcaucasian SSR.
(AP, 12/30/97)(HN, 12/30/98)
1925 “The White Guard," a novel by Mikhail Bulgakov (1891-1940) of Kiev during the Russian civil war, first appeared in part in serial form. A stage version titled “The Days of the Turbins" ran from 1926-1941. The novel was not reprinted in Russia until 1966.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_White_Guard)(Econ, 8/9/14, p.67)
1926 May 25, Symon Petlyura (47), leader of Ukraine (pogroms), was assassinated.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1927 Josef Stalin purged much of the Tatar intelligentsia in the Crimea.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8)
1927 Stephen Timoshenko, Ukraine-born railroad engineer, arrived in Michigan and joined the Univ. of Michigan where he became the world’s leading authority on applied mechanics. His 18 textbooks were published in 36 languages.
(MT, Summer/04, p.7)
1932 Walter Duranty of the NY Times won a Pulitzer Prize for his series on the Soviet Union. In 2003 a historian argued, without success, that the prize should be revoked due to Duranty's deliberate failure to cover the forced famine in the Ukraine that killed millions of people. In 2004 David C. Engerman authored "Modernization from the Other Shore," an American view of the Soviet experience."
(SFC, 10/23/03, p.A3) (SFC, 11/22/03, p.A3)(WSJ, 2/24/04, p.D8)
1932-1933 Stalin imposed terror and famine on the Ukraine, Kuban and Kazakhstan that was carried out be Lazar Kaganovich. Millions died in the famine. Stalin provoked what the Ukrainians called the Great Famine as part of his campaign to force Ukrainian peasants to give up their land and join collective farms. During the height of the famine, which was enforced by methodical confiscation of all food by the Soviet secret police, cannibalism was widespread. In 2017 Anne Applebaum authored "Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine".
(WSJ, 2/14/96, p.A-15)(SFC, 4/3/97, p.C2)(AP, 11/26/05)(Econ, 9/30/17, p.76)
1933 Mar 29, The front page of the New York Evening Post said "Famine Grips Russia — Millions Dying." The report was by Welsh journalist Gareth Jones who had recently sneaked into Ukraine, at the height of a famine engineered by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Jones was killed by bandits in 1935 while covering Japan's expansion into China. In 2009 the diaries of Jones were put on display for the first time in London.
(AP, 11/13/09)
1933 Malcolm Muggeridge (1903-1990), English writer and reporter, broke the story on the famine in the Ukraine.
(WSJ, 4/17/96, p.A-18)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_Muggeridge)
1939 Mar 15, The Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine, led by Avhustyn Voloshyn (d.1945), declared independence amid the Nazi dismemberment of Czechoslovakia. Independence ending that same evening by an invasion from Hungary. In 1946 the area became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, as the Zakarpattia Oblast ('Transcarpathian Oblast'). After the break-up of the Soviet Union, it became part of independent Ukraine as Zakarpattia Oblast.
(Econ, 3/14/09, p.57)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpatho-Ukraine)
1939-1945 During WW II the Germans and Ukrainians used Transdniestria as a killing field to purge Europe of some 150,000 Jews.
(SSFC, 2/12/06, p.E2)
1940 Mar 5, Stalin among others signed an Order for the massacre at Katyn, Poland. Soviet agents shot 21,768 Polish military officers, intellectuals and priests who had been taken prisoner during the invasion. Between April and May some 25,700 (15,000) Polish citizens were massacred by the Soviets in the Katyn and Miednoje (Mednoye) forests on the outskirts of Moscow and at Kharkov in western Russia (later Ukraine). Some 14,700 Polish officers were identified by their uniforms. Documents were made public in 1992 by Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first post-Soviet leader. They included a letter by Lavrenty Beria, head of the secret police, recommending the execution of the Polish prisoners of war. The letter bears the signatures of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin and three other members of the Politburo. Excavations of the sites began in 1994. 6,313 Polish officers were all shot in the back of the head near Mednoye. 9,000 Russians were also massacred at the site. In 2008 Andrzej Wajda directed the film “Katyn." In 2004 Russia's top military prosecutor closed the investigation after concluding that the massacre did not constitute genocide. In 2009 Russia's Supreme Court rejected appeals to re-open the investigation. On April 7, 2010, Russian PM Vladimir Putin attended a memorial ceremony. Hours later he said Stalin had ordered the atrocity as revenge for the death of Red Army soldiers in Polish prisoner of war camps in 1920.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.16)(SFEC, 9/3/00, p.A18)(AP, 3/6/05)(Econ, 6/21/08, p.65)(AP, 1/29/09)(SFC, 4/8/10, p.A2)(AP, 4/28/10)
1941 Jun 22, Germany attacked the Soviet Union, its former ally. When the German forces entered the Polish city of Lviv (Lwov), they and their Ukrainian collaborators massacred Jews in the city and countryside. While occupying the area, Germans murdered Jews in the ghetto, the Belzec death camp and a forced labor camp, Janowska, with the final annihilation occurring in 1943.
(AP, 9/2/18)
1941 Jun 25, Germans invaded Dubno, Poland, and encouraged the Ukrainians to do whatever they want to 12,000 Jews living there.
(MC, 6/25/02)
1941 Jul 3, German soldiers arrive in Kolomiya, which belonged to Poland at this time, and tacked up posters the declared in three languages “Death to All Jews." Blanca Rosenberg (d.1998) wrote a memoir in 1993, “To Tell at Last," that described how she survived the Holocaust.
(SFC, 9/29/98, p.C2)
1941 Jul 21, 200 Jewish Torahs were burned in Ukraine.
(MC, 7/21/02)
1941 Jul 27, The German army entered Ukraine.
(MC, 7/27/02)
1941 Jul, The 16,000 sq. mile area of the Ukraine named Transnistria was granted by Hitler to the Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu for Romania’s participation in the war against the soviet Union. Jews from Bessarabia, Bukovina and were Moldova were transferred here and many thousands were murdered from 1941-1944 by the Romanian Gendarmeric, the Einsatrzgruppe D, Ukrainian police and Sonderkommando R.
(WSJ, 7/30/97, p.A15)
1941 Jul, Metropolitan Andrij Sheptysky, leader of the Greek Catholics, greeted the German army for liberation from Russia.
(SFC, 6/27/01, p.A12)
1941 Aug 13, Red army evacuated Smolensk.
(MC, 8/13/02)
1941 Aug 21-Sep 26, The Soviet Union's greatest defeat in WWII occurred during the encirclement of the Ukrainian city of Kiev. The Germans took some 665,000 Soviet prisoners.
(HNQ, 8/12/98)
1941 Sep 19, The German army conquered Kiev.
(MC, 9/19/01)
1941 Sep 21, The German Army cut off the Crimean Peninsula from the rest of the Soviet Union.
(HN, 9/21/98)
1941 Sep 24, There was a bomb explosion in German headquarters in Hotel Continental in Kiev.
(MC, 9/24/01)
1941 Sep 29, In Ukraine some 33,711 Jews of Kiev were killed over 2 days before Yom Kippur in the ravine at Babi Yar by the Nazis. Henrich Himmler had sent four strike squads to exterminate Soviet Jewish civilians and other "undesirables." Over the next 2 years some 100-200 thousand more people, mostly Jews, were killed at the site.
(SFC, 10/29/96, p.A6)(HN, 9/29/00)(SFC, 6/25/01, p.A8)(SFC, 6/26/01, p.A8)(AP, 11/16/07)
1941 Sep 30, In Ukraine 33,771 Jews were killed in a two-day Nazi operation at Babi Yar ravine near Kiev [see Sep 29]. Einsatzgruppe C was responsible for the shooting of nearly 34,000 at Babi Yar.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babi_Yar)(AP, 9/28/17)
1941 Oct 3, All elderly Jewish men of Kerenchug Ukraine, were killed by SS.
(MC, 10/3/01)
1941 Oct 8, The Germans arrived in Mariupol, Ukraine, and immediately instituted anti-Jewish measures.
(WSJ, 1/19/08, p.W8)
1941 Oct 12, Thousands of Jews were killed in Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine, by men of the Security Police (Sicherheitspolizei; SiPo), assisted by members of the German Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) and the railroad police.
(Econ, 1/23/10, p.48)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivano-Frankivsk)
1941 Oct 15, Odessa, a Russian port on the Black Sea which had been surrounded by German troops for several weeks, was evacuated by Russian troops.
(HN, 10/15/98)
1941 Oct 18, The Germans forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, murdered some 9,000 local Jews.
(WSJ, 1/19/08, p.W8)
1941 Oct 22-23, Some 39,000 [20,000] Jews were killed by Romanian troops over 2 days in Odessa. Many of them were burned to death in a public square or in warehouses that were locked shut. Altogether some 90,000 Jews were killed in Odessa.
(SFC, 6/15/98, p.A11)(WSJ, 3/23/04, p.D8)
1941 Oct 25, 16,000 Jews were massacred in Odessa, Ukraine. [see Oct 22-23]
(MC, 10/25/01)
1941 Nov 6, Einsatz death groups killed some 18 thousand Jews of Rovno, Ukraine. “Einsatzgruppen" were special soldiers who followed the fighting forces and “cleaned up" the area.
(www.members.tripod.com/~ebionite/zikkar.htm#nov)
1941 Nov, Nazis in the Ukraine set up a concentration camp near the village of Gvozdavka-1, near Odessa, and killed about 5,000 Jews. Their mass grave was found in 2007.
(AP, 6/5/07)
1941 Dec 3, Hitler viewed Poltava, Ukraine.
(MC, 12/3/01)
1941 Dec-1942 Jan, A massacre of Jews began when Romanian and Ukrainian troops nailed shut one of the pigsties' doors and windows in Bogdanovka, then torched it, burning all inside alive. The killing went on for three weeks in late December 1941 and early January 1942. An estimated 48,000 people were killed.
(AP, 9/9/07)
1941 According to later day Holocaust researchers a force in Ukraine under the command of Roman Shukhevych took part in pogroms in which 4,000 Jews were killed. In 2007 Shukhevych was posthumously named a Hero of Ukraine.
(AP, 11/16/07)
1941 Ukraine nationalist leader Stepan Bandera (1912-1959) fell out with the Nazis, after the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists declared Ukraine's independence, and he was sent to a concentration camp. He won back Germany's support in 1944 and was released. His group was involved in the ethnic cleansing that killed tens of thousands of Poles across the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1942 and 1944.
(AP, 1/1/14)
1941-1944 Germany occupied the Crimean peninsula.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8)
1942 May 8, German summer offensive opened in Crimea.
(MC, 5/8/02)
1942 May 12, The Soviet Army launched its first major offensive of the war and took Kharkov in the eastern Ukraine from the German army.
(HN, 5/12/99)
1942 Jun 30, Col-gen Von Paulus' 6th Army stormed into the Ukraine.
(MC, 6/30/02)
1942 Summer, Members of Kiev’s Dynamo soccer team were brought out from forced labor to play a series of exhibition games. The last game was against Flakelf, a Luftwaffe team, which lost to Dynamo 5-2. Dynamo members were later arrested. One died of torture and 3 more were killed near the Babi Yar ravine. In 2002 Andy Dougan authored “Dynamo: Triumph and Tragedy in Nazi-Occupied Kiev."
(WSJ, 9/6/02, p.W10)
1942 Jul 13, 5,000 Jews of Rovno, Polish Ukraine, were executed by Nazis.
(MC, 7/13/02)
1942 The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, was created and battled both Soviet and Nazi forces during the war. Hostility toward the partisans later ran deep because they initially sought support from the Nazis, believing the Germans would grant Ukraine independence.
(AP, 10/15/07)
1943 Jul 11, In Poland the killing of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists peaked. From 1943-1944 Ukrainian nationalists killed up to 100,000 Poles in Volyn and eastern Galica, areas then in Poland but now in Ukraine. The peak of the killings involved Poles being butchered with axes and saws.
(AP, 7/11/16)
1943 Nov 6, Soviet forces reconquered Kiev.
(MC, 11/6/01)
1943 Some 35,000 Poles in Lviv were massacred by extreme Ukrainian nationalists. Poland opened investigations around 2001.
(SFC, 6/27/01, p.A12)
1944 Apr 10, Soviet forces liberated Odessa from Nazis.
(MC, 4/10/02)
1944 May 6, The Red Army besieged and captured Sevastopol in the Crimea.
(HN, 5/6/99)
1944 May 9, Russians recaptured Crimea by taking Sevastopol. [see May 6]
(MC, 5/9/02)
1944 May 18, The Soviet Union began the expulsion of more than 200,000 Tartars from Crimea. They were accused of collaborating with the Germans. Stalin deported some 250,000 Tatars from Crimea to Uzbekistan. They did not being to return home until the fall of the USSR.
(SC, 5/18/02)(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8,9)
1944 Jul 22, German SS officer Siegfried Assmuss, commander of a unit of the Ukrainian Self-Defense Legion, was killed by partisans near Chlaniow, Poland.
(AP, 6/14/13)(http://tinyurl.com/kk5e6s3)
1944 Jul 23, A Ukrainian Self-Defense unit, directed to "liquidate all the residents" of Chlaniow, Poland, in a reprisal attack for the killing of German SS officer Siegfried Assmuss, killed 44 people including women and children. In 2013 Michael Karkoc (94), a retired Minnesota carpenter, was named as commander of the Nazi SS-led unit in the Chlaniov attack.
(AP, 6/14/13)(http://tinyurl.com/kk5e6s3)(AP, 11/18/13)
1944 Josef Stalin deported some 250,000 Tatars from Crimea to Uzbekistan. They did not being to return home until the fall of the Soviet Union.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A8,9)
1944 The Soviet army re-conquered Bessarabia. Only then were the two parts of present-day Moldova joined together to form the Moldavian SSR. At the same time, about one-third of Bessarabia, including its entire Black Sea coastline, was incorporated into the Ukrainian SSR. The Transdniester region, having long been part of the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union, remained more Russified and Sovietized than Right-Bank Moldavia.
(http://tinyurl.com/b7m4b)
1945 Feb 4-1945 Feb 12, President Roosevelt, British PM Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin held a wartime conference in the Livadia Palace at Yalta, in the southern Ukraine. Roosevelt joked to Stalin that the only concession he might give to Ibn Saud in Saudi Arabia was "the 6 million Jews in the US." In 2012 Michael Dobbs authored “Six Months in 1945: FDR, Stalin, Churchill, and Truman – From World War to Cold War."
(AP, 2/4/97)(WSJ, 3/8/99, p.A16)(SSFC, 11/25/12, p.F4)(Econ, 10/5/13, p.58)
1945 Feb 19, Ivan Kozhedub of the Ukraine became the only Soviet pilot to shoot down a Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter and, on April 19, 1945, he downed two Focke-Wulf Fw-190s to bring his final tally to 62--the top Allied ace of the war. He was the Allies’ top ace and one of only two Soviet fighter pilots to be awarded the Gold Star of a Hero of the Soviet Union three times during World War II. Ironically prevented from fighting because his skill as a pilot made him more useful as an instructor, Kozhedub did not fly his first combat mission until March 26, 1943.
(HNQ, 4//01)
1945 Aug 16, The communist dominated Polish government signed a treaty with the USSR to formally cede eastern territories, including Galicia.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_areas_annexed_by_the_Soviet_Union)(Econ, 7/7/07, p.51)
1954 Feb 19, The Crimea was ceded to Ukraine as a gift from Russia by Nikita Khrushchev. In 2004 ethnic Russians made up a majority of the population.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_transfer_of_Crimea)(WSJ, 12/21/04, p.A14)
1959 Oct 15, Stepan Bandera (b.1909), a Ukrainian nationalist, was assassinated in Munich by a KGB agent who used a spray gun to fire cyanide gas into his face. In 2010 Ukraine Pres. Yushchenko issued a decree posthumously awarding the nation's highest award to Bandera weeks before his term ended in February. Yushchenko called Bandera patriot, but the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish rights group, said Bandera's followers were linked to the deaths of thousands of Jews. In April 2010 a court overturned the decree.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera)(WSJ, 11/21/96, p.A10)(AP, 4/3/10)
1967 Viacheslav Chornovil was arrested by Soviet authorities for dissident activities. His 3 year sentence was later cut in half.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1972 Oct 26, Igor Sikorsky (b.1889), Ukraine-born helicopter pioneer, died in Connecticut.
(HNPD, 10/27/98)(ON, 3/06, p.5)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Sikorsky)
1972 Viacheslav Chornovil was again arrested for publishing an underground newsletter and sentenced to 6 years in prison and e years in exile.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1973 Aug 28, Princess Anne became the first member of the British royal family to visit the Soviet Union when she arrived in Kiev for an equestrian event.
(www.thehistorychannel.co.uk/site/this_day_in_history/this_day_August_28.php)
1976 An 86-pound topaz crystal was found in the central Zhytomyr region. In 1997 it was stolen from a Kiev museum.
(SFC, 2/1/97, p.A15)
1977 Nov 16, Oksana Baiul, Ukraine figure skater (Olympic-gold-1994), was born.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oksana_Baiul)
1980 Apr, Viacheslav Chornovil was again arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison, but was released in 1983.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1980 Ukrainian dissident poet Vasyl Stus was arrested for “anti-Soviet activity." Viktor Medvedchuk was appointed his lawyer. During his closing speech at the trial, Medvedchuk denounced his client and said that all of Stus’s “crimes" deserved punishment. Stus was sentenced to 10 years of forced labor in the notorious Perm-36 Gulag camp where he died, while on hunger strike, in 1985.
(The Daily Beast, 7/14/19)
1980 In Ukraine an explosion at the Gorskaya mine killed 66 miners.
(SFEC, 3/12/00, p.A17)
1986 Apr 26, The world's worst nuclear accident occurred in Pripyat, Ukraine, at 1:23 a.m. as the Chernobyl atomic power plant exploded. A 300-hundred-square-mile area was evacuated. 41 men died from the explosion and unknown thousands were exposed to radioactive material that spread in the atmosphere throughout the world. The plant burned for 10 days. About 70% of the fallout fell in Belarus. Damage was estimated to be up to $130 billion. By 1998 10,000 Russian "liquidators" involved in the clean-up had died and thousands more became invalids. Gen. Nikolai Timofeyevich Antoshkin (d.2021), organized the "liquidators" to seal the core. It was later estimated that the released radioactivity was 200 times the combined bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was later found that Soviet scientists were authorized to carry out experiments that required the reactor to be pushed to or beyond its limits, with safety features disabled.
(WSJ, 11/8/95, p.A-1)(SFC, 4/27/98, p.A14)(SFC, 12/18/99, p.C4)(AP, 4/26/05)(Econ, 10/6/07, p.18)(Econ, 4/30/15, p.48)(Econ., 2/6/21, p.74)
1986 Apr 27, In Ukraine the town of Pripyat was evacuated some 36 hours following the worst nuclear disaster in history.
(Econ, 4/30/15, p.48)
1986 Apr 28, The Soviet Union informed the world of the Apr 26 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, saying the accident damaged a reactor and that aid was being rendered to "those affected."
(AP, 4/28/02)
1986 Jun 15, Pravda announced that the high-level Chernobyl staff in Ukraine was fired.
(http://tinyurl.com/ydptos)
1986 Mustafa Dzhemilev, a leader of the Tatar community in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, was released from a Soviet prison. He was jailed in 1983 for trying to execute the will of his father to be buried in Crimea.
(Econ, 6/20/15, p.59)
1986 The Soviet leadership sent an estimated 7,000 Lithuanians, all but 100 of them male, to Chernobyl in the months and years after the Ukraine nuclear disaster. Many were forced against their will. They joined others from across the Soviet Union to work on the clean-up without sufficient protection or medication for their exposure to the high levels of radiation. Many later suffered from illnesses and health problems as a result.
(Reuters, 7/31/19)
1986-1992 Leonid Kuchma led the Soviet Yuzmash rocket plant.
(SFC, 2/13/01, p.A10)
1989 Viacheslav Chornovil was instrumental in the formation of the pro-independence Popular Rukh.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1990 Mar 4, Voters in the Soviet republics of Russia, Byelorussia and the Ukraine participated in local and legislative elections, resulting in notable gains for reformists and nationalists.
(AP, 3/4/00)
1990 Jul 16, The Ukraine Parliament approved a declaration of State Sovereignty. The people's deputies vote 339-5 to proclaim July 16 a national holiday.
(www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/2001/340119.shtml)
1990 The fiercely anti-Russian Ukrainian National Assembly was created, and its paramilitary wing UNA-UNSO in 1991 after the abortive putsch in Moscow.
(AP, 1/1/05)
1991 Aug 1, President Bush, visiting the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, urged Soviet republics to show restraint in their demands for more autonomy.
(AP, 8/1/01)
1991 Aug 24, Ukraine declared independence from USSR.
(www.users.bigpond.com/kyroks/ukrhist10.html)
1991 Dec 1, Ukrainians voted overwhelmingly for independence from the Soviet Union. Viacheslav Chornovil finished 2nd to Leonid Kravchuk.
(WP 6/29/96, p.A20)(AP, 12/1/97)(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1991 Dec 8, Russia, Byelorussia and Ukraine declared the Soviet national government dead, forging a new alliance to be known as the Commonwealth of Independent States. Boris Yeltsin, Ukrainian Pres. Leonid Kravchuk, and Belarus Pres. Stanislav Shuskevich met in a hunting lodge to proclaim the Soviet Union null and void and to form a loose Commonwealth of Independent States. The declaration later became known as the "Belavezha Accords."
(SFC, 9/9/98, p.A10)(AP, 12/8/01)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislau_Shushkevich)
1991 Jews erected a menorah monument memorial at the WW II Babi Yar site. [see Sep 1941]
(SFC, 6/26/01, p.A8)
1991 Ukraine deregulated prices.
(Econ, 11/4/06, p.86)
1992 Feb 14, The former Soviet republics of Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan rejected a proposal for a unified army, sharply rebuffing Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin.
(AP, 2/14/02)
1992 The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate separated from the Russian Orthodox Church following Ukraine's independence.
(AFP, 7/5/14)
1992 Sevastopol was opened to the outside world.
(SFC,12/190/97, p.F6)
1994 Mar 27, Ukraine held its first parliamentary elections since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
(AP, 3/27/99)
1994 Jul 19, Leonid Kuchma (b.1938) took office as the 2nd president of Ukraine.
(Econ, 1/23/10, p.48)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Kuchma)
1994 Dec 5, President Clinton, on a whirlwind visit to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Budapest, Hungary, urged European leaders to "prevent future Bosnias." In the so-called Budapest memorandum Britain, Russia and the US affirmed their commitment to respect the independence, sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine.
(AP, 12/5/99)(AFP, 3/3/14)
1994 Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons it had inherited from the Soviet Union in exchange for security guaranties from Britain, France, America and Russia.
(Econ., 3/7/15, p.24)
1994 Sunday Adelaja (27), a Nigerian evangelist, began prayer meetings in Kiev, Ukraine, for alcoholics, drug addicts and petty crooks. By 2006 he claimed some 25,000 members.
(WSJ, 7/21/06, p.A1)
1995 Mar 1, Vitaly Massol, Ukraine premier, resigned.
(SC, 3/1/02)
1995 May 12, President Clinton, during a stopover in Ukraine, visited Babi Yar, where the Nazis massacred more than 30,000 Kiev Jews in 1941.
(AP, 5/12/00)
1995 Dec, Accord to be signed in Canada. The country was committing to close down the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by the turn of the century. Closure is estimated to cost $4 bil. The group of seven industrialized nations has offered $2 bil in credits to reshape the energy sector.
(WSJ, 12/20/95, p.A-10)
1995 In Kiev police outside St. Sophia Cathedral beat demonstrators, who tried to bury Orthodox Patriarch Volodymyr at an unauthorized site.
(SFC, 3/10/01, p.)
1996 Apr 9, Drinking water in most of Ukraine’s cities isn’t potable because of industrial pollution and aging water pipes. From a study by the Health Ministry.
(WSJ, 4/9/96, p.A-15)
1996 Apr 16, Anatoly Onoprienko was arrested in western Ukraine. He later admitted to the murder of some 52 people in a serial killing spree from 1989 to 1996 that first came to attention in 1995. He went on trial in 1998. In 1999 the former sailor was sentenced to death.
(www.thecrimeweb.com/anatolyonoprienko.html)(WSJ, 11/24/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/2/99, p.A1)
1996 May 28, Ukraine’s president, Leonid Kuchma, fired his prime minister, Yevhen Marchuk, in a dispute over economic reforms, and named ally Pavlo Lazarenko as prime minister.
(WSJ, 5/28/96, p. A-18)(SFC, 5/29/96, p.A8)
1996 Jun 3, A hepatitis epidemic has hospitalized nearly 3,000 residents of Sevastopol so far this year. All nuclear weapons have been transferred to Russia for dismantling. The US paid $267 mil for the removal.
(WSJ, 8/8/95, p. B6D) (WSJ, 8/8/95, p. A1)
1996 Jun 28, Pres. Leonid Kuchma pushed through parliament, called the Rada, a new constitution. It established a clear right to own private property, and Ukrainian as the only state language.
(WP. 6/29/96, p.A20)
1996 Jul 16, Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko escaped an assassination attempt. He proceeded to the Donbass coalfields where 200,000 miners were on strike.
(WSJ, 7/17/96, p.A1)
1996 Sep 2, The government planned to introduce its new currency, the hyrvna. The old karbovanets would be swappable for only 2 weeks.
(WSJ, 8/27/96, p.A10)
1996 Oct 24, Yeltsin of Russia and Kuchma of the Ukraine agreed to divide the Black Sea Fleet.
(WSJ, 10/25/96, p.A1)
1996 Nov 3, Yevhen Shcherban, Ukrainian businessman and politician, and his wife were assassinated at Donetsk Airport by several men posing as police officers. Prosecutors have stated the murder was intended to eliminate competition for control of Ukraine’s natural gas industry. In 2002, eight men were arrested and tried for the murder. All of them were found guilty, with three receiving life sentences.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yevhen_Shcherban)(http://tinyurl.com/8xlflju)
1996 Ukrainian men had one of the highest infertility rates in the world, ever since the Chernobyl disaster 10 years ago. Nearly one of five Ukrainian babies dies shortly after birth, and there have been more deaths than births since 1990.
(G&M, 1/31/96, p.A-24)
1996-1998 Pavel Lazarenko was later accused of siphoning $72.1 million in public funds into a series of Swiss bank accounts during this period.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A16)
1997 May 24, In the Ukraine the first McDonald’s restaurant opened.
(SFEC, 5/25/97, p.A10)
1997 May 31, Russia and the Ukraine signed a friendship treaty. Boris Yeltsin traveled to Kiev to sign the treaty.
(SFEC, 6/1/97, p.A8)
1997 Jun 14, It was reported that a huge sinkhole in Dnepropetrovsk had swallowed houses, schools and a 9-story apartment. It was due to flash flooding and an underground river.
(SFC, 6/14/97, p.A11)
1997 Jun 19, Pres. Kuchma removed prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko under pressure from Western donors who saw him as an opponent to free-market policies. Lazarenko was accused of corruption. In 1998 Lazarenko was indicted by Swiss authorities on money-laundering charges.
(SFC, 6/20/97, p.A22)(SFEC, 12/20/98, p.A32)
1997 Jul 17, In the Ukraine the parliament confirmed Valery Pustovoitenko as prime minister. He was an ally of Pres. Kuchma and vowed to work with lawmakers.
(WSJ, 7/17/97, p.A1)
1997 Dec 17, A Ukrainian jetliner from Odessa, a Yakoviev 42, was missing as it approached the Greek city of Salonica with 70-71 people onboard. The wreckage was located near Fotina, Greece, on Dec 20, as a Greek military plane, searching for the wreckage, crashed north of Athens. All five people aboard the C-130 transport plane were killed.
(WSJ, 12/18/97, p.A1)(www.cnn.com/WORLD/9712/20/greece.plane.pm/)
1997 The Ukrainian film “A Friend of the Deceased" starred Alexandre Lazarev and Angelika Nevolina. It was directed by Vyacheslav Krishtofovich.
(SFC, 5/15/98, p.C3)
1997 Former Soviet republics (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova) formed Guuam to seek cooperation outside Russian influence.
(WSJ, 3/4/05, p.A13)
1998 Mar 24, Vasyl Koryak, mayor of Lubny in central Poltava, was badly wounded when gunmen opened fire on his car.
(SFC, 3/25/98, p.A11)
1998 Mar 29, Parliamentary elections gave the Communists about 121 of 450 seats.
(SFC, 4/1/98, p.A10)
1998 Mar, The government issued a warrant for Petro Kyrytchenko, a partner to Pavel Lazarenko in a money laundering operation.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A16)
1998 Apr 4, In the Ukraine a gas explosion at the Skochinsky coal mine outside Donetsk killed 63 men.
(SFEC, 4/5/98, p.A20)(AP, 4/4/08)
1998 Jul 17, In Eritrea a Ukrainian IL-78 transport plane crashed near Asmara and killed 9 people.
(SFC, 7/18/98, p.A14)
1998 Jul 28, The Ukraine faced a financial crises as $1 billion in bond payments came due and parliament rejected austerity measures.
(WSJ, 7/28/98, p.A1)
1998 Aug 12, Prime Minister Valery Pustovitenko called 1,500 executives to a civil defense base to solve the question of their debts. A previous summons had net 70 million, but was not sufficient to cover the $3.5 billion budget deficit.
(SFC, 8/14/98, p.A10)
1998 Sep 4, Ukraine clinched a $2.2 billion IMF loan and announced a de facto currency devaluation for its hryvnia to between 2.5 and 3.5 to the dollar.
(WSJ, 9/8/98, p.A23)
1998 Sep 9, The UN General Assembly elected Uruguay’s foreign minister as president for its 53rd session. Didier Opertiti replaced Hennadiy Udovenko of Ukraine.
(SFC, 9/10/98, p.C2)
1998 Sep 13, Victor Verloo (64), a Peace Corps volunteer from Sacramento, was stabbed to death by robbers in Chernihiv, north of Kiev.
(SFC, 9/16/98, p.A3)
1998 Former Ukraine prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko purchased the former Eddie Murphy California Bay Area mansion for $6.7 million.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A16)(SFC, 6/2/00, p.A19)
1998 Ukraine’s state-controlled Naftogaz energy company was formed. It soon became a fount of corruption.
(Econ, 12/20/14, p.82)
1999 Jan 19, From the Ukraine it was reported that the number of HIV cases had risen to between 38,000 and 110,000. In 1994 44 people tested positive.
(SFC, 1/19/99, p.A6)
1999 Jan, Former Prime Minister Lazarenko was detained by US authorities and transferred to a detention center in Dublin, Ca., to await a hearing on extradition charges filed by the Swiss government. Lazarenko maintained his affiliation with the Hromada Party and his position as candidate for presidency in the October elections.
(SFC, 6/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 19, The Ukraine Parliament withdrew the immunity of former prime minister Lazarenko and issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of embezzlement and misuse of government funds.
(SFC, 2/23/99, p.A14)
1999 Mar 7, Ukraine restarted nuclear reactor No. 3 at Chernobyl following repairs that began Dec 15.
(SFC, 3/8/99, p.A16)
1999 Mar 25, Viacheslav Chornovil (61), prominent politician and former Soviet political prisoner, died in a car crash.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.C2)
1999 Apr 1, In Zhytomyr, Ukraine, Anatoly Onoprienko was sentenced to death for the deaths of 52 men, women and children between 1989 and 1996. 43 of the killings occurred in a 6 month period.
(OTD)
1999 May 19, Ukrainian authorities on 19 May 1999 arrested four Russian citizens who were attempting to smuggle 20kg of “enriched uranium ore" to Western Europe.
(http://tinyurl.com/3cydhn)
1999 May 24, The Ukraine reported that it had lost $220 million in trade since the NATO war against Yugoslavia began. 90% of the Ukraine population was against the NATO bombing.
(SFC, 5/25/99, p.A8)
1999 May 24, A methane gas explosion in a mine killed 39 [50] and injured 48 in the Donetsk region.
(WSJ, 5/26/99, p.A1)(SFEC, 3/12/00, p.A17)
1999 Jun 18, In California Peter Kirichenko, a Ukrainian citizen, was arrested in Tiburon. He was wanted by Swiss authorities for aiding former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko in a money laundering scheme.
(SFEC, 6/20/99, p.C2)
1999 Jul, Pres. Kuchma and the parliament agreed to deploy 800 soldiers for peacekeeping in Kosovo with financial assistance from NATO.
(SFEC, 8/1/99, p.A20)
1999 Jul 31, The Ukraine and the US agreed to extend the nuclear weapon and ballistic missile dismantling program for 6 years.
(SFEC, 8/1/99, p.A20)
1999 Sep, Leonid Kuchma ordered his police and tax authorities to undertake a campaign of threats and intimidation to guarantee an election victory. Recordings of this were made public in 2001.
(SFC, 2/20/01, p.A9)
1999 Oct 2, Natalia Vitrenko of the leftist Progressive Socialist Party was wounded in a grenade attack at a campaign meeting in Inguletsk.
(WSJ, 10/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 31, Elections were held and Pres. Kuchma was favored. Kuchma came in 1st with 36.5% of the vote vs. Communist leader Petro Symonenko with 22.2%. A runoff was scheduled in 2 weeks.
(WSJ, 10/29/99, p.A1)(SFC, 11/1/99, p.A13)(SFC, 11/2/99, p.A14)
1999 Nov 14, Pres. Kuchma won a 2nd term by a 56% margin over Petro Symonenko with 97% of the ballots counted.
(SFC, 11/15/99, p.A17)
1999 Nov 26, Reactor No. 3, the functioning power plant at Chernobyl and site of the 1986 accident, reopened.
(SFC, 11/26/99, p.A22)(SFC, 11/27/99, p.A18)
1999 Dec, Pres. Kuchma abolished over 10,000 Soviet-era collective farms. He decreed that the land be divided among the farm workers. The plots averaged 6 to 7.5 acres and the owners had the right to rent the land but not to sell it.
(WSJ, 7/24/00, p.B19F)
1999 Victor Yuschenko became Ukraine’s prime minister and served to 2001. He managed to reverse the country’s economic decline.
(Econ, 10/30/04, p.27)
2000 Mar 11, A methane gas explosion at the Barakova mine on the eastern border killed at least 80 workers.
(SFEC, 3/12/00, p.A17)
2000 Mar 15, The IMF announced that Ukraine had provided false data on its currency reserves between 1996 and 1998 in order to get 3 loans approved.
(SFC, 3/16/00, p.A15)
2000 Apr 6, Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko won parliamentary approval for a 5-year plan to cut state bureaucracy, deregulate business, open up privatization efforts, create a private land market, lower taxes and improve tax collection.
(WSJ, 4/7/00, p.A15)
2000 May 18, Former Ukraine prime minister Pavel Lazarenko was indicted by a San Francisco grand jury for money laundering and transportation of stolen property. In 2003 he put up an $86 million bail and was confined to a SF apartment. In 2004 a federal judge in SF dismissed nearly half the charges against Lazarenko. On June 3, 2004, Lazarenko was convicted on 29 felony charges. His money laundering was guessed to be in excess of $40 million.
(SFC, 6/2/00, p.A19)(SSFC, 10/19/03, p.A25)(SFC, 5/8/04, p.B3)(SFC, 6/4/04, A3)
2000 cMay, Troops accidentally fired a missile into an apartment building in Kiev and 4 people were killed.
(SFC, 10/10/01, p.A20)
2000 Jun 5, Pres. Clinton met with Pres. Kuchma in Ukraine and Kuchma announced the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by Dec 15. Clinton pledged $80 million to help pay the $750 million cost to stabilize the sarcophagus of the ruined reactor.
(SFC, 6/6/00, p.A1)
2000 Jul 5, The Chernobyl nuclear plant drew pledges of $715 million from Western nations for a 5-year project to replace the protective tomb built to close off the 1986 nuclear accident.
(WSJ, 7/6/00, p.A1)
2000 Jul, Ukraine’s Pres. Kuchma authorized the sale of an advanced $100 million radar system to Iraq in violation of UN sanctions. Evidence of the sale emerged in 2002.
(SFC, 4/16/02, p.A7)(SFC, 9/24/02, p.A18)
2000 Aug 31, Pres. Kuchma declared 4 villages near Mykolaiv an ecological disaster zone due to illnesses of some 400 residents since July 4. Chemical poisoning from Soviet-era rocket fuel leaks was blamed.
(SFC, 9/1/00, p.D5)
2000 Sep 16, Hrihori Gongadze (31), journalist, disappeared in Kiev. He was an outspoken critic of the government and of high-level corruption. A beheaded body, believed to be his, was found in Nov. Gongadze was the founder of the Internet news site Ukrainian Truth. In 2001 the government announced that he was killed by criminals who were also murdered and that the killings had nothing to do with politics. Suspects in the murder were arrested in 2005. In 2005 a commission investigating the kidnapping and killing of Gongadze accused parliament's Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn of instigating the slaying. Findings stemmed from recordings in which voices resembling those of Lytvyn, former President Leonid Kuchma and other officials are heard allegedly conspiring against Gongadze. The trial of three former police officers charged with killing Gongadze opened in 2006. In 2008 a court in Kiev jailed three former police officers for between 12 and 13 years for the murder of Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze. In 2009 National Security Service agents arrested the fourth suspect, Olexiy Pukach, who was working as the chief of the Interior Ministry's surveillance department at the time of the killing.
(SFC, 11/17/00, p.D6)(SFC, 12/14/00, p.C4)(SFC, 5/16/01, p.D14)(SFC, 3/2/05, p.A3)(AP, 9/21/05)(AP, 1/10/06)(AFP, 3/15/08)(AP, 7/22/09)
2000 Dec 6, The last working reactor at Chernobyl was shut down due to a malfunction 9 days before a scheduled permanent shut down. It was later powered back up prior to the official shut down.
(SFC, 12/7/00, p.C10)(SFC, 12/15/00, p.D2)
2000 Dec 15, In Ukraine the last working nuclear plant at Chernobyl was shut down. It had recently undergone $300 million in safety improvements. The destroyed reactor, which contained up to 66 tons of melted nuclear fuel and 37 tons of radioactive dust, was still leaking radiation. A new sarcophagus was expected to cost $758 million.
(SFC, 12/15/00, p.D2)(SFC, 12/16/00, p.A22)
2000 Dr. Andrew Wilson, historian and analyst at the European Council on foreign relations, authored “The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation."
(www.amazon.com/Ukrainians-Unexpected-Dr-Andrew-Wilson/dp/0300083556)
2001 Jan 21, Nine miners died and 15 were injured in a gas explosion in the Donetsk coal region. 318 miners were killed in 2000.
(WSJ, 1/22/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 26, The 198-foot vessel Pamyat Merkuriya sank in the Black Sea and at least 14 people were killed. The ship was enroute to Yevpatoria, Ukraine, from Istanbul.
(SFC, 1/30/01, p.A11)
2001 Feb 6, Up to 5,000 protesters marched in Kiev and demanded the resignation of Pres. Kuchma. Kuchma’s voice on recent private recordings included an order for a journalist’s abduction and threats to a judge.
(SFC, 2/7/01, p.A14)
2001 Feb 11, Some 5-10 thousand protesters called for the resignation of Pres. Kuchma. Kuchma fired 2 top security officials amid the growing scandal of a journalist killed while investigating graft.
(SFC, 2/12/01, p.B1)(WSJ, 2/12/01, p.A1)
2001 Feb 12, Pres. Kuchma and Pres. Putin met at the Yuzmash rocket plant and agreed to reconnect their countries’ electricity grids and made 14 other agreements securing Russian orders from Ukrainian factories.
(SFC, 2/13/01, p.A10)
2001 Feb 13, Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s former Deputy Prime Minister and a principal opponent to Pres. Kuchma, was arrested on charges dating back to 1996 when she was head of United Energy Systems. Ms. Tymoshenko made her fortune in murky gas trades between Russia and the Ukraine in the early 1990s.
(SFC, 2/14/01, p.A14)(Econ, 10/6/07, p.59)
2001 Mar 8, Flooding in the Ukraine and northeastern Hungary left at least 5 people dead. Tens of thousands were driven from their homes as the Tisza and other Carpathian streams rose.
(WSJ, 3/9/01, p.A1)
2001 Mar 9, In Ukraine tens of thousands of demonstrators rioted in Kiev to force Pres. Kuchma from office.
(SFC, 3/10/01, p.A8)
2001 Mar 26, Pres. Kuchma fired his interior minister.
(WSJ, 3/27/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 26, In Ukraine the parliament voted 263-59 to dismiss Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko. A large crowd of his supporters called for the impeachment of Pres. Kuchma.
(SFC, 4/27/01, p.D2)
2001 May 3, US federal agents broke up a smuggling ring that brought hundreds of Ukrainians into the US through Mexico.
(WSJ, 5/4/01, p.A1)
2001 May 22, Pres. Kuchma planned to nominate Anatoly Kinakh (46), a close ally and industrialist, as prime minister.
(SFC, 5/23/01, p.C4)
2001 May 29, The Parliament confirmed Anatoly Kinakh as prime minister.
(SFC, 5/30/01, p.A12)
2001 Jun 23, Pope John Paul II began his 5-day visit to Ukraine, where the Greek Catholic Church had 5 million followers who observed Byzantine rites but were loyal to Rome. He hoped to mend a rift with the Eastern Orthodoxy.
(SFC, 6/22/01, p.A14)
2001 Jun 25, Pope John Paul II planned to visit Babi Yar where some 200,000 Jews and other Nazi victims are buried. Pope John Paul II visited Babi Yar, the site of a Nazi massacre of at least 100,000 Jews. [see 1941]
(SFC, 6/25/01, p.A8)(WSJ, 6/26/01, p.A1)
2001 Jul 3, TV director Ihor Alexandrov was beaten to death by unknown assailants in Slaviansk. In 2000 a European court on Human Rights had cleared him of charges for violating laws on campaign coverage.
(WSJ, 7/9/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/11/01, p.A8)
2001 Aug 19, A methane and coal dust explosion killed 36 miners at the Zasiadko mine in the Donetsk region.
(SFC, 8/20/01, p.A9)
2001 Sep 28, The Ukraine began military exercises with attacks planned against unmanned drones.
(SFC, 10/5/01, p.A17)
2001 Oct 4, A chartered Russian Tupelov-154 airplane crashed in to the Black Sea and all 78 people aboard were killed. The Sibir Airlines jet was bound to Novosibirsk from Tel Aviv. An accidental missile strike from Ukrainian military forces was suspected but denied by Ukraine officials. Pres. Putin said terrorists might have been responsible. Later evidence indicated that flight 1812 was hit by an S-200 missile. On Oct 12 Ukraine and Russia acknowledged that an errant missile was the probable cause. In 2003 Ukraine agreed to pay $200,000 for each Israeli killed.
(SFC, 10/6/01, p.A11)(WSJ, 11/21/03, p.A1)(www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/100501crash.shtml)
2001 Oct 24, Pres. Kuchma accepted the resignation of his defense minister and suspended all missile and anti-aircraft firing. He also apologized to Russia and Israel for the Oct 4 accident.
(SFC, 10/25/01, p.C2)
2001 Nov 28, A UN report on AIDS noted Ukraine as the 1st European nation to report 1% of its adults infected. Rapid spread was noted across Eastern Europe.
(WSJ, 11/29/01, p.A1)
2001 Ukraine's 2001 Census was the first census implemented by Ukraine as an independent nation. The census confirmed that Ukraine is loosing population at an alarming rate. Between 1989 and 2001, Ukraine's population declined from 51,706,700 to 48,457,100, which translates into a 6.1 percent decline. The decline was not uniform across the country.
(http://www.ukrweekly.com/old/archive/2003/020302.shtml)
2002 Jan 17, Sergei Belousov, co-editor of the Berdyansk Delovoi newspaper, suffered a concussion when his Toyota Land Cruiser steering failed. He and his wife reported on official corruption in the country.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A6)
2002 Jan 28, Tatyana Goriachova, co-editor of the Berdyansk Delovoi newspaper and wife of Sergei Belousov, was attacked with hydrochloric acid to her face.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A6)
2002 Mar 31, In Ukraine elections the pro-Western Our Ukraine led by former PM Viktor Yuschenko led with 23%. The Communist Party had 20%. Pres. Kuchma’s United Ukraine had 13% and expected 119 seats in parliament. The parties provide half the 450 sets of the parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada. Direct elections decide the other half.
(SFC, 4/1/02, p.A6)(SFC, 4/2/02, p.A6)(SFC, 4/3/02, p.A7)
2002 Apr 15, Evidence was made public that Pres. Kuchma in 2000 authorized the sale of an advanced $100 million radar system to Iraq in violation of UN sanctions.
(SFC, 4/16/02, p.A7)
2002 Jun, Computer hackers from around the world gathered in Odessa, Ukraine, for summit on trading tips and setting up rules for bilking targets.
(SSFC, 10/23/11, p.F2)
2002 Jul 7, In eastern Ukraine rescue workers found the bodies of 35 miners killed in one of two fires over the weekend in mines.
(AP, 7/7/02)(AP, 7/8/02)
2002 Jul 21, A methane gas explosion tore through a Ukrainian coal mine, killing at least six miners and leaving more than 28 missing.
(AP, 7/21/02)
2002 Jul 27, In Lviv, Ukraine, a fighter jet slammed onto the tarmac and sliced through a crowd watching an air show, killing 85 people and injured 116.
(AP, 7/28/02)(WSJ, 8/8/02, p.A1)
2002 Jul 31, In Ukraine a coal mine blast killed 19 miners, 3,557 underground.
(SFC, 8/1/02, p.A14)
2002 Sep 16, In Ukraine, some 15,000 demonstrators marched in Kiev and tens of thousands of others gathered in public squares around the country, demanding that President Leonid Kuchma resign or call new elections.
(AP, 9/16/02)
2002 Oct 12, In Ukraine tens of thousands of protesters laid out their charges against President Leonid Kuchma at a "people's tribunal", and opposition lawmakers said prosecutors promised to review their complaints.
(AP, 10/12/02)
2002 Oct 15, A judge opened a criminal case against embattled Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, a day after U.S. and British experts began investigating allegations that he approved the sale of a radar system to Iraq.
(AP, 10/15/02)
2002 Nov 16, Ukraine Pres. Leonid Kuchma fired the government of Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh and nominated Victor Yanukovych, governor of the Danetsk coal region, as PM.
(AP, 11/16/02)(SSFC, 11/17/02, p.A19)
2002 Nov 17, Ukraine Pres. Leonid Kuchma went to China seeking support for his request that U.N. inspectors verify that his government did not transfer radar systems to Iraq.
(AP, 11/17/02)
2002 Dec 23, In central Iran a Ukrainian An-140 aircraft, carrying Ukrainian and Russian aerospace scientists from Turkey, flew into a mountainside while preparing to land killing all 46 people on board. Airport officials said pilot "carelessness" caused the plane to crash.
(AP, 12/24/02)
2002 The Ukraine military offered a half-hour flight on the MiG-29 for $8,500.
(SFC, 9/13/02, p.A12)
2002 In Ukraine Dmytro Firtash and a partner formed EuroTransGas company and began making deals with central Asian countries. Some of those deals took business away from a powerful oligarch, Igor Makarov. Firtash made a series of lucrative gas deals from 2004 to 2008 through a company called RosUkrEnergo. In 2014 Ukraine's new government struck a deal on natural gas, depriving Firtash of a major revenue stream.
(NBC News, 1/25/20)
2002 A European firm won a $43 million settlement against the Ukraine state in a dispute over an oil-refinery contract. Ukraine refused to pay and the company seized 2 Ruslan transport planes, one in Canada and one in Brussels.
(WSJ, 1/19/05, p.A1)
2002 Semion Mogilevich (b.1946), a Ukrainian businessman, and Igor Fisherman were indicted in Philadelphia on charges of money laundering and securities fraud in connection with the collapse of YBM Magnex, Inc. in which investors lost some $150 million. In 2006 Mogilevich was under investigation for possible links to natural gas deals between Russia and Ukraine.
(WSJ, 12/22/06, p.A11)
2002-2004 The US funneled $57.8 million to the Ukraine to support of pro-Democracy activities.
(SSFC, 12/19/04, p.A3)
2003 Jan 18, Serhiy Naboka (47), one of Ukraine's best-known journalists, and a reporter for a U.S.-funded radio station, was found dead in his hotel room.
(AP, 1/18/03)
2003 Apr 28, Ukraine's Pres. Leonid Kuchma signed a bill prohibiting media censorship amid claims by journalists that his administration is meddling in their work.
(AP, 4/28/03)
2003 May 26, An airplane carrying 62 Spanish peacekeepers crashed into a mountain in northeastern Turkey while making its third attempt to land in thick fog. All 75 people aboard were killed. The Yak-42 was chartered from a Ukrainian company. On Jan 11, 2016, Spain's defense ministry took political responsibility for the crash.
(AP, 5/26/03)(WSJ, 5/27/03, p.A1)(AFP, 1/11/17)
2003 May, Ukraine reformed its tax code along Russian lines with a 13% top marginal rate.
(WSJ, 7/11/03, p.A8)
2003 Oct 22, Tensions spiraled between Ukraine and Russia over a small island controlling access to disputed waters. Pres. Leonid Kuchma cut short a Latin American trip to return home to deal with the issue. The dispute centers on construction of a dike from the Russian mainland out into the Kerch Strait that connects the Black and Azov Seas.
(AP, 10/23/03)
2003 Oct 28, In southern Iraq 7 Ukrainian peacekeepers were wounded when militants attacked their patrol. 1,650 Ukrainian troops served in the Polish-led stabilization force.
(AP, 10/29/03)
2003 Dec 17, In the Ukraine a bus veered off a mountain road and plunged into a deep ditch on the Crimean peninsula, killing 17 people and injuring 19 others.
(AP, 12/18/03)
2003 Dec 24, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, gave initial approval to constitutional amendments allowing the president to be elected by the legislature rather than by popular vote.
(AP, 12/24/03)(WPR, 3/04, p.28)
2003 Dec 30, Ukraine's Constitutional Court ruled that President Leonid Kuchma can run for a third five-year term next year.
(AP, 12/30/03)
2003 Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma authored a book called “Ukraine Is Not Russia."
(Econ, 2/26/11, p.58)
2004 Mar 4, Ukrainian authorities pulled a private station off the air, four days after it began broadcasting U.S.-funded Radio Liberty's shortwave programming.
(AP, 3/4/04)
2004 Apr 9, Investigators in the Ukraine reported that the bodies of at least 50 people believed to have been killed by Nazi troops have been unearthed from a mass grave in the Crimean peninsula, 550 miles southeast of Kiev.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Jul 19, In eastern Ukraine a coal mine methane gas explosion killed at least 34 miners near Donetsk.
(AP, 7/20/05)
2004 Aug 2, Ukraine's prime minister called for reducing the country's troop contingent in Iraq, openly disagreeing with top defense officials who want to increase the force.
(AP, 8/2/04)
2004 Aug 8, President Leonid Kuchma, joined by other top officials, attended the startup of nuclear reactor No. 2 at the Khmelnitskyi plant in western Ukraine.
(AP, 8/8/04)
2004 Oct 23, In Ukraine tens of thousands of people supporting opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko rallied in Kiev demanding that next week's presidential election be free and fair.
(AP, 10/23/04)
2004 Oct 31, Ukrainians cast ballots in a presidential vote. The opposition complained of violations just hours into the polling. Key contenders included pro-Russian PM Viktor Yanukovych and former PM Viktor Yushchenko, a reformist candidate. Yushchenko won by .5%, but failed to get a majority setting up a runoff vote for Nov 21. Observers from NATO and Europe said the balloting did not meet democratic standards.
(AP, 10/31/04)(AP, 11/1/04)(WSJ, 11/19/04, p.A12)
2004 Nov 6, In Ukraine tens of thousands of supporters of presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko filled Kiev's main square, joining nationwide protests over alleged election fraud.
(AP, 11/6/04)
2004 Nov 10, After a delayed final tally reformist opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko edged the prime minister in the first round of Ukraine's presidential vote.
(AP, 11/10/04)
2004 Nov 21, Ukrainians cast ballots in a presidential run-off.
(AP, 11/21/04)
2004 Nov 22, Ukraine’s central electoral commission said that with 99.38 percent of polling stations reporting, PM Viktor Yanukovych had secured 49.42 percent of the vote compared to 46.7 for his Western-leaning rival, Viktor Yushchenko. Tens of thousands of demonstrators jammed downtown Kiev in freezing temperatures, denouncing Ukraine's presidential runoff election as fraudulent and chanting the name of their reformist candidate. The color orange spread as the symbol of protest and the movement began to be called the Orange Revolution.
(AP, 11/22/04)(WSJ, 11/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Nov 23, Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko declared victory in Ukraine's presidential election and took a symbolic oath of office. About 200,000 supporters gathered in the capital to protest alleged election fraud. He won a court-ordered revote in December 2004.
(AP, 11/23/04)(AP, 11/23/05)
2004 Nov 24, Ukraine's election commission declared Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin-backed prime minister, as winner. Ukraine's opposition called for a new round of presidential elections to resolve the political crisis gripping the nation. EU leaders, alleging fraud, warned of "consequences" if the poll was not reviewed.
(AP, 11/24/04)
2004 Nov 25, Ukraine's Supreme Court prohibited making the results of the nation's disputed presidential election official until it considers an appeal.
(AP, 11/25/04)
2004 Nov 27, Ukraine's parliament declared invalid the disputed presidential election that triggered a week of growing street protests and legal maneuvers, raising the possibility that a new vote could be held.
(AP, 11/27/04)
2004 Nov 28, Ukraine’s outgoing President Leonid Kuchma called on opposition supporters to end their four-day blockade of government buildings, saying compromise is needed to solve the political crisis.
(AP, 11/28/04)
2004 Nov 30, Opposition supporters tried to rush through the doors of the parliament building after Ukrainian lawmakers appeared to backslide from supporting measures that would overturn the results of last week's disputed presidential election.
(AP, 11/30/04)
2004 Dec 1, Ukraine's parliament brought down the government of PM Viktor Yanukovych with a no-confidence motion in a show of the opposition's strength. The outgoing president called for an entirely new presidential election to be held to resolve the spiraling political crisis.
(AP, 12/1/04)
2004 Dec 3, Ukraine’s Supreme Court overturned the results of the disputed presidential elections and ordered a new runoff by Dec 26.
(SFC, 12/4/04, p.A1)
2004 Dec 8, Ukraine's parliament adopted electoral and constitutional changes in a compromise intended to defuse the nation's political crisis.
(AP, 12/8/04)
2004 Dec 9, In Kiev, Ukraine, opposition protestors lifted their 2-week siege.
(SFC, 12/10/04, p.A3)
2004 Dec 11, Doctors in Austria determined that Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko had been poisoned with dioxin, which caused the severe disfigurement and partial paralysis of his face.
(AP, 12/11/05)
2004 Dec 27, Ukraine election officials said opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko won 51.99 percent to 44.19 percent for Moscow-backed PM Viktor Yanukovych. Supporters of the pro-Russian PM vowed to challenge the results in court.
(AFP, 12/28/04)
2004 Dec 27, Ukrainian Transport Minister Heorhiy Kirpa, a supporter of the trailing candidate in the presidential election, was found dead in his house from a gunshot wound. Opposition figures claimed that Kirpa allocated trains to ferry Yanukovych supporters to vote at multiple polling sites in Nov. 21 presidential balloting that eventually was annulled by the Ukraine Supreme Court.
(AP, 12/27/04)
2004 Dec 31, Ukrainian PM Viktor Yanukovych resigned, acknowledging that he had little hope of reversing the election victory of his Western-leaning rival, Viktor Yushchenko.
(AP, 12/31/05)
2004 Inflation in the Ukraine hit a 4-year high of 12.3%.
(WSJ, 3/28/05, p.A14)
2004 The Ukraine Kryvorizhstal steelworks was privatized at half its market value to two of the country’s richest men, Victor Pinchuk, the son-in-law of Pres. Kuchma, and Rinat Akhmetov.
(Econ, 10/30/04, p.27)(Econ, 12/18/04, p.102)
2005 Jan 1, Ukraine was forecast for 7% annual GDP growth with a population at 46.9 million and GDP per head at $1,630.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.90)
2005 Jan 3, Ukraine gave in and agreed to pay Turkmenistan a third more for natural gas following a shut-off.
(WSJ, 1/4/05, p.A1)
2005 Jan 9, In Iraq 7 Ukrainian soldiers and one Kazakh serving with the U.S.-led coalition were killed in an explosion while loading bombs that could be used by warplanes.
(AP, 1/9/05)
2005 Jan 10, Ukraine's Election Commission declared Viktor Yushchenko the winner of the presidential vote.
(AP, 1/10/06)
2005 Jan 11, The Ukrainian parliament called for an immediate withdrawal of the nation's peacekeepers from Iraq. The vote was non-binding but reflected growing national dismay over the mission.
(AP, 1/11/05)
2005 Jan 23, Viktor Yushchenko was sworn in as president of Ukraine.
(AP, 1/23/06)
2005 Jan 24, Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko, visiting Moscow on a trip to mend relations after a bitter election campaign, appointed top ally Yulia Tymoshenko as prime minister.
(AP, 1/24/05)
2005 Feb 4, The Ukraine Parliament unanimously approved fiery opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko as PM, along with her government's new program to raise living standards, tackle corruption and set Ukraine on a westward course.
(AP, 2/4/05)
2005 Feb 4, A Ukraine intelligence official said secret indictments and arrests have taken place against at least 6 arms dealers accused of selling nuclear capable missiles to China and Iran.
(SFC, 2/4/05, p.A5)
2005 Feb 22, In Belgium a Nato summit announced a 12-year program to destroy Soviet-era weapons in Ukraine. Ukraine’s Pres. Viktor Yushchenko attended.
(WSJ, 2/22/05, p.A1)
2005 Feb 26, The Ukraine cabinet stripped former president Leonid Kuchma of a plush and widely criticized retirement package that featured a monthly pension, two cars, a government home and much more.
(AP, 2/26/05)
2005 Mar 1, Ukraine’s top security body decided to Ukrainian troops from Iraq.
(SFC, 3/2/05, p.A12)
2005 Mar 4, Ukraine's former interior minister was found dead of an apparent suicide, just before he was to meet with prosecutors for questioning about the 2000 slaying of an investigative journalist. The minister had two shots to the head.
(AP, 3/4/05)(Econ, 4/2/11, p.50)
2005 Mar 12, Ukraine withdrew 150 servicemen from Iraq, starting a gradual pullout that officials have said will be completed by October.
(AP, 3/12/05)
2005 Mar 18, In Kiev prosecutors said Ukrainian weapons dealers smuggled 18 nuclear-capable cruise missiles to Iran and China in 2001 during former President Leonid Kuchma's administration.
(AP, 3/18/05)
2005 Apr 6, A joint session of US Congress listened to Ukrainian Pres. Yushchenko as he called for an end to trade barriers and a new era in US-Ukraine relations.
(SFC, 4/7/05, p.A8)
2005 May 12, Austrian authorities reported the break up a major human trafficking ring led by Romanian, Moldovan and Ukrainian criminals who smuggled more than 5,000 East Europeans to the West, many enduring horrific conditions in tiny hiding spaces in cars, trucks and trailers.
(AP, 5/12/05)
2005 May 20, A federal judge in SF tossed out half of the convictions against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko in a multi-count money-laundering and fraud verdict, but refused to grant a new trial.
(AP, 5/21/05)
2005 May 26, The US and Ukraine signed an agreement to safeguard nuclear waste and upgrade storage facilities in Ukraine.
(SFC, 5/27/05, p.A3)
2005 Jun 2, In southern Ukraine a freight train crashed into a passenger bus at a railroad crossing, killing 14 people. In a separate accident, a train crashed into a car at another crossing point, killing three people.
(AP, 6/2/05)
2005 Jun 13, Ukraine prosecutors said authorities had arrested the former head of Ukraine's peacekeeping troops in Iraq on charges of smuggling.
(AP, 6/13/05)
2005 Aug 12, Leaders of Georgia and Ukraine called for an alliance that would champion democracy in the former Soviet lands.
(AP, 8/12/05)
2005 Aug 28, A Jewish student was attacked by 7 young men near the Central Synagogue School in Kiev, where he studied. He remained in a coma after 2 days and Ukraine's Pres. Yushchenko condemned the brutal beating and ordered senior officials to take personal control of the case.
(AP, 8/30/05)
2005 Sep 5, In the Ukraine Oleksandr Zinchenko, a close aide to President Viktor Yushchenko who was a chief organizer of the "Orange Revolution" protests, said he had resigned from the government because of systemic corruption.
(AP, 9/6/05)
2005 Sep 8, Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko dismissed his Cabinet amid swirling allegations of corruption, saying members of the fragile coalition formed after last year's Orange Revolution had turned on one another.
(AP, 9/8/05)
2005 Sep 20, Ukraine’s Pres. Viktor Yushchenko failed to win support for his candidate as premier. Yuri Yekhanurov, a middle-of-the-road technocrat and ally of the president, won 223 votes, three short of the required majority in the 450-seat assembly.
(AP, 9/20/05)
2005 Sep 22, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko forged an awkward alliance with Viktor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions, his archrival and Orange Revolution enemy, to get his choice for new PM through parliament. Parliament approved Yuriy Yekhanurov with 289 votes.
(AP, 9/22/05)
2005 Oct 7-2005 Oct 8, More than 330 school children in western Ukraine were hospitalized with food poisoning, including four who were in critical condition. A preliminary investigation showed that the source of infection as a dysentery bacteria in kefir, a popular drink made of fermented milk.
(AP, 10/8/05)
2005 Oct 14, President Viktor Yushchenko dismissed Ukraine's top prosecutor less than a week after he launched investigations against a presidential ally, deepening the confusion in the former Soviet republic.
(AP, 10/14/05)
2005 Oct 23, Pope Benedict XVI named five new saints at the close of a 3-week Synod of Bishops. They included: Josef Bilczewski, archbishop of Lviv, who was greatly admired by Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Jews alike during World War and the Rev. Zygmunt Gorazdowski, who founded the Congregation for the Sisters of St. Joseph to care for the sick and poor.
(AP, 10/23/05)
2005 Oct 24, NATO pledged to help Ukraine push through military reforms seen as essential to prepare the country for membership in the Western alliance, a prospect viewed with concern in Russia.
(AP, 10/24/05)
2005 Oct 24, Ukraine auctioned a 93% stake in Kryvorizhstal, its largest steel mill, to Mittal Steel, the world’s biggest steelmaker, for $4.8 billion.
(Econ, 10/29/05, p.50)
2005 Nov 27, Pirates freed a Ukrainian cargo ship seized nearly 40 days ago off the coast of Somalia. The Panahia and its 22 crew members were seized Oct 18. It was not immediately clear if the $700,000 ransom demanded by the pirates had been paid.
(AP, 11/27/05)
2005 Dec 2, In Kiev 9 presidents from Baltic and Black Sea nations pledged to strengthen democracy in a region traditionally considered Russia's neighborhood. They included Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Slovenia, Romania and the Ukraine.
(AP, 12/02/05)
2005 Dec 3, Ukraine reported its first outbreak of bird flu, discovered among some 1,500 dead chickens and geese in the Black Sea region of Crimea.
(AP, 12/03/05)
2005 Dec 8, Ukraine said it had detected the highly pathogenic type of bird flu that is dangerous to humans, the strain known as H5N1. The September outbreak was located in several villages in the Crimean peninsula where about 2,500 birds died within hours.
(AP, 12/08/05)
2005 Dec 20, Ukraine began pulling its remaining 876 troops out of Iraq, the defense ministry said, making it the latest nation to wind down its presence in the U.S.-led coalition.
(AP, 12/20/05)
2005 Dec 27, Ukraine and Bulgaria said all their troops had left Iraq. Poland said it would remain but reduce its number of troops by 600 next year.
(AP, 12/27/05)
2005 Dec 29, Russia bought up gas supplies from Turkmenistan to prevent Ukraine from getting them. Russia was demanding a quadruple increase in gas prices.
(WSJ, 12/30/05, p.A1)
2005 Dec 31, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's state-owned natural gas monopoly to supply Ukraine with natural gas at the current price for three months, if the government in Kiev immediately agreed to a big price hike to take effect later.
(AP, 12/31/05)
2005 Marina Lewycka (b.1946), a British writer of Ukrainian origin, authored “A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian." The novel was hailed as one of the funniest of the year.
(Econ, 4/21/07, p.95)
2006 Jan 1, Russia's natural gas monopoly halted sales to Ukraine in a price dispute and began reducing pressure in transmission lines that also carry substantial supplies to western Europe. Supplies of natural gas to Poland have been hit by cuts imposed by Russia on the amount of gas entering the pipeline system in neighbouring Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/1/06)(AFP, 1/1/06)
2006 Jan 2, Russia's state-controlled natural gas monopoly accused Ukraine of diverting about $25 million worth of Russian gas intended for other customers, a day after Moscow halted deliveries to Kiev in a price dispute whose effects were spreading across Europe.
(AP, 1/2/06)
2006 Jan 2, A heavily-criticized Russia promised to restore full gas supplies to Europe after Germany warned that its dispute with Ukraine over deliveries could hurt its long-term credibility as an energy supplier.
(AP, 1/2/06)
2006 Jan 3, Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to resume talks on resolving a dispute over the price of natural gas that has reverberated across the continent and left Ukraine cut off from its supplies.
(AP, 1/3/06)
2006 Jan 4, The Russian and Ukrainian natural gas companies agreed on a plan to resume gas shipments to Ukraine that allowed both sides to claim victory after a commercial and political dispute that had raised fears of gas shortages in Europe.
(AP, 1/4/06)
2006 Jan 10, Ukraine’s Parliament fired the Cabinet because of a new deal with Russia that nearly doubled what Ukraine pays for natural gas. PM Yuri Yekhanurov and the justice minister, however, said the vote was nonbinding and vowed that the current Cabinet would continue working.
(AP, 1/10/06)
2006 Jan 13, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said that his country should produce its own nuclear fuel for power plants.
(AP, 1/13/06)
2006 Jan 23, The US Trade Representative's Office said a 2nd layer of sanctions on Ukraine has been removed because of that country's progress in fighting piracy of US music and films.
(AP, 1/23/06)
2006 Jan 25, An Arctic weather front wreaked more havoc across a wide swath of eastern Europe, killing 53 people overnight in Ukraine alone and severely disrupted transport networks in half-a-dozen countries.
(AFP, 1/25/06)
2006 Feb 2, Russia and Ukraine announced the signing of an agreement finalizing their Jan 4 compromise on natural gas prices.
(WSJ, 2/3/06, p.A10)
2006 Feb 14, A senior Russian official said Russia will not pay more to base its Black Sea Fleet in a Ukrainian port, rebuffing Ukrainian demands and setting the stage for the latest dispute between the ex-Soviet neighbors.
(AP, 2/14/06)
2006 Feb 17, David Sampson, America’s Deputy Sec. of Commerce, announced in Kiev that the US now recognized Ukraine as a market economy.
(Econ, 11/4/06, p.86)
2006 Mar 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said new customs rules imposed by Ukraine to tighten its border with Moldova's breakaway region violate a 1997 agreement and are an attempt to pressure the separatist Russian-speaking enclave.
(AP, 3/9/06)
2006 Mar 26, Ukrainians cast ballots in a parliamentary election that could tip this divided ex-Soviet republic back toward Russia just 16 months after the Orange Revolution helped put it on a westward course.
(AP, 3/26/06)
2006 Mar 27, In Ukraine early election results showed pro-Russia party led by Viktor Yanukovych taking the largest number of votes, followed by the president's former ally, Yulia Tymoshenko. President Viktor Yushchenko's party was a distant third, a stinging rebuke to his West-leaning administration. Yanukovych's party, which has pledged to make Russian a second state language, drop plans to join NATO and restore frayed ties with Moscow, was dominating in the Russian-speaking east and south.
(AP, 3/27/06)
2006 Mar 28, Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko met separately with both his estranged Orange Revolution ally and an old pro-Moscow adversary as he sought to form a coalition after most voters rejected his party in weekend parliamentary elections.
(AP, 3/28/06)
2006 Apr 13, The three parties that were central to Ukraine's Orange Revolution signed a protocol aimed at advancing the formation of a coalition government and ending their wrangling after last month's elections.
(AP, 4/13/06)
2006 Apr 18, Greenpeace said in a new report that more than 90,000 people were likely to die of cancers caused by radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, countering a United Nations report that predicted the death toll would be around 4,000.
(AP, 4/18/06)
2006 Apr 22, In eastern Ukraine homemade bombs exploded in lockers at two supermarkets, wounding as many as 14 people.
(AP, 4/22/06)
2006 Apr 22, Two British scientists reported that the long-term effects of the Chernobyl disaster could cause up to 66,000 extra deaths from cancer, 15 times more than UN officials predicted last year. Their report was titled "The Other Report on Chernobyl."
(AFP, 4/22/06)
2006 Apr 24, The annual Goldman Environmental Prizes were awarded in San Francisco. The winners included Craig Williams (58) for helping to persuade Congress to order the Defense Dept. to consider alternatives to incinerating chemical weapons; Tarcisio Feitosa (35) of Brazil for his campaign against rampant logging; Olya Melen (26) of Ukraine for her suits forcing the government to scale back a large canal project impacting wetlands; Yu Xiaogang (35) of China for his reports on damages caused by new dams; Silas Siakor (36) of Liberia for his documentation showing how logging was used to fund civil war; and Anne Kajir of Papua New Guinea for her work to get reimbursements from logging companies to peasants.
(WSJ, 4/24/06, p.B7)
2006 May 19, Ukraine cultural figures and celebrities criticized efforts to grant the Russian language special status, calling it an act of war against the Ukrainian language. Council officials said their decision is based on a European charter, which was ratified by the Ukrainian parliament in 2003, that protects regional and minority languages.
(AP, 5/19/06)
2006 May 21, In SF some 62,000 runners participated in the annual Bay to Breakers race. Gilbert Okari (27) of Kenya won in 34 minutes and 20 seconds. Among the women Ukrainian Tetyana Hladyr won in 39:09. Mayor Newsom finished the 7.46 miles in 59:04.
(SFC, 5/22/06, p.A1)
2006 Jun 11, Teams of veterinarians were sent to destroy domestic poultry in northern Ukraine after the first appearance of bird flu in the region.
(Reuters, 6/12/06)
2006 Jun 11, US troops sent to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea to prepare for joint war games left Ukraine after two weeks of protests organized by pro-Russian parties prevented them from carrying out their mission.
(AP, 6/12/06)
2006 Jun 21, The parties behind Ukraine's Orange Revolution agreed to form a coalition government, ending three months of tense talks to preserve a pro-Western government that has sought to shed Russia's influence.
(AP, 6/21/06)
2006 Jun 22, Parties backing the "Orange Revolution" agreed to form a coalition government to keep the pro-Western administration on course for bringing Ukraine out of Russia's shadow and into the European mainstream.
(AP, 6/22/06)
2006 Jun 29, Ukraine's opposition party prevented members of a newly formed ruling coalition from taking their seats in parliament, stopping a vote on returning ousted PM Yulia Tymoshenko to her former job.
(AP, 6/29/06)
2006 Jul 6, Ukraine's pro-Russian opposition ended a 10-day parliament blockade and lawmakers elected a speaker. The pro-Western coalition was sent into a tailspin by a ballot that in a surprise move saw its smallest faction, the Socialists, join with pro-Russian parties to elect its leader Olexander Moroz as speaker.
(AP, 7/6/06)
2006 Jul 11, Ukraine's newly created pro-Russian governing coalition proposed Viktor Yanukovych, a bitter rival of President Viktor Yushchenko, as the next prime minister, an appointment that would mark a humiliating defeat for the president.
(AP, 7/11/06)
2006 Jul 29, Marathon talks to end Ukraine's political paralysis broke off without an agreement between President Viktor Yushchenko and the pro-Russian parliamentary majority that has nominated his former Orange Revolution rival as prime minister.
(AP, 7/29/06)
2006 Aug 3, Ukrainian Pres. Viktor Yushchenko nominated former foe Viktor Yanukovych for prime minister after Yanukovych signed a memorandum on national unity.
(SFC, 8/3/06, p.A3)
2006 Aug 4, The Ukraine Parliament named Viktor Yanukovych prime minister. His fraud-tainted 2004 presidential victory was turned back by the Orange Revolution.
(AP, 8/4/06)
2006 Aug 22, A Russian passenger jet with at least 170 people aboard crashed in Ukraine after sending a distress signal. The Pulkovo airlines Tupolev 154, en route from the Russian Black Sea resort of Anapa to St. Petersburg, crashed near the Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
(AP, 8/22/06)
2006 Sep 14, Ukraine’s pro-Russia premier suspended a bid to join NATO.
(WSJ, 9/15/06, p.A1)
2006 Sep 20, In eastern Ukraine a methane blast ripped through a coal mine, killing 13 miners and injuring 36 others.
(AP, 9/20/06)
2006 Oct 14, Ukrainian nationalist fighters who battled both Soviet and Nazi forces during World War II rallied in their country's capital, demanding the same financial and moral recognition as Red Army veterans.
(AP, 10/14/06)
2006 Oct 18, In Kiev Steven Spielberg and Victor Pinchuk hosted the premiere of "Spell Your Name," a film by director Sergey Bukovsky on the Holocaust in Ukraine.
(www.spielbergfilms.com/general/1098)
2006 Oct 19, Four ministers from President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party resigned after the collapse of talks to create a broad ruling coalition in the ex-Soviet state.
(AP, 10/19/06)
2006 Nov 14, In Ukraine Bohdan Datsko, director of a Christmas tree ornament factory, was shot to death in the western city of Lviv in what authorities said was the second attack on an executive there in less than a month.
(AP, 11/14/06)
2006 Nov 28, The Ukraine Parliament adopted a bill recognizing the Soviet-era forced famine as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.
(AP, 11/28/06)
2006 Dec 1, Ukraine lawmakers fired the foreign minister and interior minister, setting the stage for a legal battle between the president and the premier.
(AP, 12/1/06)
2006 Dec 22, In Ukraine Russia’s Pres. Putin and Pres. Yushchenko oversaw the signing of numerous bilateral accords. Putin assured his Ukrainian counterpart that Moscow wants good relations, in a meeting that both leaders presented as a break from the strained relationship of the past.
(AP, 12/22/06)
2006 Askold Krushelnycky authored “An Orange Revolution: A Personal Journey Through Ukrainian History."
(Econ, 5/6/06, p.84)
2006 Anders Aslund and Michael McFaul edited “Revolution in Orange: The Origins of Ukraine’s Democratic Breakthrough."
(Econ, 5/6/06, p.84)
2007 Jan 17, Yevgeny Kushnaryov (55), described as "the right-hand man" to Ukraine's pro-Russian PM, Viktor Yanukovych, died from his wounds one day after being shot by one of his hunting companions.
(www.alertnet.org/thenews/pictures/MOS11.htm)
2007 Jan 18, Borys Tarasyuk, Ukraine's foreign minister, accused the Cabinet of PM Yanukovych of cutting off funds to his ministry, leaving it unable to pay its employees or contribute dues to international organizations.
(AP, 1/19/07)
2007 Jan 25, Ukraine’s PM Yanukovych said that he is working to complete a pipeline to carry Caspian-region oil directly to the EU.
(WSJ, 1/27/06, p.A4)
2007 Jan 30, Borys Tarasyuk, Ukraine's pro-Western foreign minister, resigned saying a monthlong struggle between him and the government dominated by a Russia-leaning party risked damaging the country's international reputation.
(AP, 1/30/07)
2007 Mar 27, In Kiev, Ukraine, a Russian businessman allied with Ukraine's president was killed by a sniper as he was escorted from a courthouse during a break in his extortion trial.
(AP, 3/28/07)
2007 Apr 2, Ukraine’s president called early elections for May 27 amid a standoff with the pro-Russian premier, who vowed to fight what he called a coup.
(WSJ, 4/3/07, p.A1)
2007 Apr 3, Thousands of Ukrainian protesters streamed into the capital in the most serious confrontation between the prime minister and the president since the two men faced off during the Orange Revolution.
(AP, 4/3/07)
2007 Apr 4, Thousands of supporters of Ukraine's Russian-leaning prime minister marched to the office of the pro-Western president, protesting a presidential order to hold early elections.
(AP, 4/4/07)
2007 Apr 7, Thousands of supporters of Ukrainian PM Viktor Yanukovych rallied for a fifth day in the streets of Kiev, calling for stability amid a political crisis over the president's dissolution of parliament.
(AP, 4/7/07)
2007 Apr 14, The Egyptian state news agency MENA said that Neo-Nazis had attacked an Egyptian diplomat in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The Ukrainian government has said it deeply regrets the incident.
(Reuters, 4/14/07)
2007 Apr 17, Egypt launched EgyptSat 1, its first remote sounding satellite, from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The spacecraft was jointly developed by Egypt's National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences and the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau in Ukraine. Israeli officials suspected it to be a spy satellite. In 2010 ground-controllers lost it.
(http://claudelafleur.qc.ca/Spacecrafts-2007.html)(Econ, 10/30/10, p.50)
2007 Apr 25, Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko pushed back the date of snap parliamentary elections until June 24. The move was seen as a conciliatory gesture as the Constitutional Court began deliberations on the legality of his decree dissolving parliament.
(AP, 4/25/07)
2007 May 4, Ukraine's president and prime minister reached agreement on holding early parliamentary elections in a bid to end a political standoff between the rival leaders.
(AP, 5/4/07)
2007 May 7, A large explosion in Ukraine knocked out of service one of the main pipelines which carries Siberian gas through Ukraine to Germany and other EU clients. Shifting soil led to a break in the pipeline.
(AP, 5/7/07)(AP, 5/8/07)
2007 May 17, In Ukraine Petro Balabuyev (75), a lead designer of the world's largest aircraft, the An-225, died.
(AP, 5/17/07)
2007 May 26, In Ukraine several thousand interior troops streamed to Kiev, strengthening President Viktor Yushchenko's hand in a bitter dispute with the nation's prime minister that stoked up fears of violence.
(AP, 5/26/07)
2007 May 27, Ukraine's feuding president and prime minister agreed to hold an early parliamentary election on Sept. 30, defusing a crisis that threatened to escalate into violence when the president sent troops streaming toward the capital.
(AP, 5/27/07)
2007 Jun 7, PepsiCo Inc., the nation's second biggest soft drink company, and an affiliated Midwest-based beverage bottler said they will pay $542 million for an 80% stake in Sandora LLC, a Ukraine-based juice company.
(AP, 6/7/07)
2007 Jun 19, It was reported that political troubles in the Ukraine were being aggravated by soaring bread prices as the worst drought in a century hit the region.
(WSJ, 6/19/07, p.A1)
2007 Jun 28, The European Commission said all Indonesian airlines and several from Russia, Ukraine and Angola will be banned from flying to the EU due to safety concerns.
(AP, 6/28/07)
2007 Jul 17, In western Ukraine a train carrying yellow phosphorus derailed, releasing a cloud of toxic gas into the air over 14 villages. 20 people were hospitalized and hundreds evacuated.
(AP, 7/17/07)
2007 Jul 18, A Ukraine bus taking vacationers to the Black Sea overturned when its brakes failed, killing six people and injuring 46.
(AP, 7/19/07)
2007 Jul 23, Israeli police said 9 Israelis suspected of trafficking in organs and humans have been arrested and remain in custody. The case was opened when an Israeli woman filed a police complaint charging that she was not paid after her kidney was removed in Ukraine.
(AP, 7/23/07)
2007 Jul 26, Turkish police arrested Maksym Yastremskiy (24), a Ukrainian data-theft suspect. The US Secret Service had been investigating him since 2004. Losses to US individuals from identity theft thieves, online and offline, totaled $49 billion in 2006.
(WSJ, 8/10/07, p.A6)
2007 Sep 17, Ukrainian officials signed a $505 million contract with a French-led consortium for construction of a new shelter for the Chernobyl reactor, the site of the word's worst nuclear accident.
(AP, 9/17/07)
2007 Sep 30, Ukrainians began voting in an early parliamentary election meant to bring an end to a months-long political standoff between the nation's two feuding leaders. Victor Yushchenko’s party earned only about 16% of the parliamentary vote. PM Viktor Yanukovych, had about 30% of the vote. Yulia Tymoshenko’s bloc was leading with 33%.
(AP, 9/30/07)(AP, 10/1/07)
2007 Oct 3, President Viktor Yushchenko ordered Ukraine's feuding parties to strike a deal on a post-election government, a move likely to aggravate a political deadlock that has stalled economic reforms. With more than 99% of the vote counted, Regions Party had 34.3% and its Communist Party ally 5.4. The Tymoshenko bloc had polled 30.8 and Our Ukraine 14.2%.
(Reuters, 10/3/07)
2007 Oct 10, Ministers from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine signed a deal to build an oil pipeline linking the Black and Baltic seas.
(WSJ, 10/11/07, p.A18)
2007 Oct 13, At least 15 people were killed in a natural gas blast that partly destroyed an apartment building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk.
(AFP, 10/13/07)(AP, 10/15/07)
2007 Nov 11, A severe storm broke the Volganeft-139, a small Russian oil tanker, in two in the Strait of Kerch, spilling at least 560,000 gallons of fuel into the strait between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. A Russian official said it was an "environmental disaster." 8 seamen were left missing. Two freighters nearby also sank under 18-foot waves in storm. As many as 10 ships sank or ran aground in the area.
(AP, 11/11/07)(Reuters, 11/12/07)(SFC, 11/12/07, p.A15)
2007 Nov 18, A methane blast ripped through a coal mine in eastern Ukraine, killing 101 workers. In 2008 the head of an investigative commission said negligence by coal mine managers eager to ratchet up output led to a methane blast in Ukraine's deadliest mining disaster since the Soviet breakup.
(AP, 11/18/07)(AP, 11/19/07)(AP, 1/25/08)
2007 Nov 23, Ukrainian PM Viktor Yanukovych submitted his resignation as a new parliament was sworn in and rival parties jostled to form a government after September elections.
(AP, 11/23/07)
2007 Nov 28, Two Hungarians and a Ukrainian were arrested in eastern Slovakia and Hungary in an attempted sale of a kilo (2.2 lbs.) of uranium, material believed to be from the former Soviet Union. Police said it was enriched enough to be used in a radiological "dirty bomb."
(AP, 11/29/07)
2007 Nov 29, Ukraine's two pro-Western parties forged a majority coalition in parliament, paving the way for forming a government.
(AP, 11/29/07)
2007 Dec 2, In Ukraine 5 workers looking for the bodies of miners killed in the country’s worst mine explosion since the Soviet collapse were killed in a new explosion. A day earlier 44 people were injured in an explosion in the same section of the mine.
(AP, 12/3/07)
2007 Dec 9, A charter aircraft flying from the Czech Republic crashed near Kiev airport in Ukraine killing at least 5 people.
(AFP, 12/9/07)
2007 Dec 11, Ukraine's parliament narrowly rejected the candidacy of Orange Revolution leader Yulia Tymoshenko for prime minister, but was expected to hold a further vote.
(AFP, 12/11/07)
2007 Dec 18, Ukraine's pro-Western coalition appointed Orange Revolution leader Yulia Tymoshenko prime minister and named a government that favors the ex-Soviet republic winning NATO and EU membership.
(AP, 12/18/07)
2007 Dec 30, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko signed off on Ukraine's 2008 budget, which he hailed as proof that the country's razor-tight parliamentary majority was functioning effectively.
(AP, 12/30/07)
2007 Ukraine’s population numbered about 48 million. This included some 8 million ethnic Russians.
(Econ, 7/7/07, p.51)(Econ, 9/13/08, p.16)
2008 Jan 25, A World Trade Organization (WTO) accession committee approved Ukraine's membership bid, clearing the way for the former Soviet republic to join the body.
(AP, 1/25/08)
2008 Jan 25, Russia's lower house of parliament annulled an agreement with Ukraine on using Soviet-built military radars, citing Kiev's bid to join NATO.
(AP, 1/25/08)
2008 Feb 6, Ukraine's main opposition party vowed to continue its blockade of parliament, a day after fist fights and protests over NATO membership caused the president to cancel his state of the nation speech.
(AP, 2/6/08)
2008 Feb 12, Russia agreed to eliminate a murky middleman company from its gas trade with Ukraine in exchange for 50% share of Ukraine’s domestic gas market.
(WSJ, 2/13/08, p.A5)
2008 Mar 3, Russia quelled protests in Moscow following the elections and reduced natural gas supplies to Ukraine over $600 million in alleged nonpayments for past deliveries.
(WSJ, 3/4/08, p.A1)
2008 Mar 4, Ukraine's natural gas company warned that if Russia further cuts its gas supplies, it could begin diverting shipments intended for western Europe.
(AP, 3/4/08)
2008 Mar 5, Russia's state gas monopoly announced that it was ending a reduction in natural gas supplies to Ukraine after the two countries' presidents and gas company chiefs reached an agreement aimed at ending a debt and contract dispute.
(AP, 3/5/08)
2008 Mar 22, Eighteen Ukrainian sailors were missing after their tug boat sank off the Hong Kong coast following a collision with a cargo ship. 7 people were rescued. On Dec 13, 2010, a Hong Kong court convicted four seamen over the deaths of the 18 Ukrainian sailors.
(Reuters, 3/23/08)(AFP, 1/13/10)
2008 Mar 27, A helicopter belonging to Ukraine's border guards crashed off an island in the Black Sea. One officer was rescued and 12 were missing.
(Reuters, 3/27/08)
2008 Apr 1, In Ukraine President Bush said he is putting his full weight behind the desire by Ukraine and Georgia to join NATO even though Russia is opposed and the alliance is split.
(AP, 4/1/08)
2008 Apr 3, President Bush won NATO's endorsement for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe over Russian objections. The proposal also advanced with Czech officials announcing an agreement to install a missile tracking site for the system in their country. NATO decided not to put Georgia and Ukraine on track to join the alliance after vehement Russian opposition, but the alliance pledged that the strategically important Black Sea nations will become members one day.
(AP, 4/3/08)
2008 Apr 28, A Ukrainian helicopter crashed onto an offshore drilling platform in the Black Sea, killing all 20 people on board.
(Reuters, 4/28/08)
2008 May 21, Ukraine moved to strengthen its currency, the hryvnia, by revising its peg to the dollar form 5.05 hryvnia per dollar to 4.85.
(WSJ, 5/22/08, p.C14)
2008 Jun 6, Russia's new Pres. Medvedev met with leaders of a fractious alliance of ex-Soviet republics, warning Ukraine and Georgia not to lead their countries into NATO.
(AP, 6/6/08)
2008 Jun 8, In eastern Ukraine a powerful explosion tore through a mine, trapping at least 37 miners who had been making repairs to improve safety conditions in the mine. 23 miners were rescued on June 9.
(AP, 6/8/08)(Reuters, 6/9/08)
2008 Jul 27, Floods in western Ukraine killed 22 people, including 4 children, and 5 in neighboring Romania after 5 days of nonstop rain. A senior government official described them as the worst in a century. Heavy rain in the southwestern Carpathian Mountains caused the Prut and Dniestr rivers to overflow. The flooding affected more than 40,000 houses and led to the evacuation of some 20,000 people.
(Reuters, 7/27/08)(AP, 7/28/08)
2008 Jul, In the Ukraine a 16th-century Caravaggio painting, "The Taking of Christ, or the Kiss of Judas," was stolen from the Museum of Western and Eastern Art in Odessa. It was valued at several million euros. In 2010 Berlin recovered the painting and arrested four members of an international gang of art thieves as they tried to sell it to an interested buyer.
(AP, 6/28/10)
2008 Aug 5, The UN said heavy rains and storms have led to some of the worst floods in 40 years in parts of Ukraine, Moldova and Romania since July 22, causing great damage to homes, infrastructure and farmland. In Ukraine, 34 people have been killed in the west of the country along the Dniestr and Prut rivers; in Moldova, three people are reported to have drowned in the capital Chisinau; in Romania five people have been killed.
(AFP, 8/5/08)
2008 Sep 2, Ukraine lawmakers loyal to PM Yulia Tymoshenko sided with opposition parties to pass a law weakening presidential powers and boosting those of the prime minister.
(AP, 9/3/08)
2008 Sep 3, Ukraine's Pres. Yushchenko ordered the creation of a new governing coalition and threatened fresh elections, accusing his rival prime minister and opposition parties of attempting a "constitutional coup."
(AP, 9/3/08)
2008 Sep 5, In Kiev US Vice President Dick Cheney pledged US support for Ukraine following last month's war between neighboring Russia and Georgia.
(AP, 9/5/08)
2008 Sep 9, The 27-member EU stopped short of offering Ukraine membership during an EU-Ukraine summit hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But the two sides began work on an "association accord," a step that offers closer political and economic ties and in the past has been designed to prepare nations for eventual membership.
(AP, 9/10/08)
2008 Sep 16, Ukraine's pro-Western coalition collapsed, paving the way for complicated coalition talks or yet another early parliamentary election.
(AP, 9/16/08)
2008 Sep 17, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko said she would not resign as required following the collapse of the country's ruling pro-Western coalition.
(AFP, 9/17/08)
2008 Sep 25, Pirates seized the 530-foot, Ukrainian cargo vessel, MV Faina, with 21 people aboard off eastern Somalia. Russia's navy soon sent a warship to Somalia's coast a day after pirates seized the Ukrainian vessel loaded with 33 tanks, ammunition and 3 Russian crew members. The ITAR-Tass news agency said the military equipment had been sold to Kenya. It was later reported that the arms were destined for southern Sudan and that Kenya’s cooperation would be rewarded in the future with cheap oil. The shipped was released on Feb 5, 2009, following a ransom of $3.2 million. Viktor Pinchuk, A top Ukrainian businessman, paid the "lion's share" of the ransom.
(AP, 9/26/08)(SFC, 9/27/08, p.A5)(Econ, 10/4/08, p.49)(AP, 2/5/09)(AP, 3/3/09)
2008 Sep 27, A Ukrainian ship, sailing under a North Korean flag, sank in the Black Sea and all crew members were missing. the 5,000-ton Tolstoy was carrying a cargo of scrap metal to the Turkish port of Nemrut.
(AP, 9/27/08)
2008 Sep 29, US warships and helicopters surrounded a hijacked cargo ship loaded with Sudan-bound tanks and other arms to keep the weapons from falling "into the wrong hands." The shipment of 33 Russian-designed tanks, rifles and ammunition on the Ukrainian-operated Faina was headed for Sudan, not Kenya as previously claimed by Kenyan officials. Somali pirates demanded a $20 million ransom.
(AP, 9/29/08)(SFC, 9/29/08, p.A12)
2008 Oct 9, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko called early general elections after dissolving parliament when parties failed to resurrect a ruling pro-Western coalition in the former Soviet state.
(AFP, 10/9/08)
2008 Oct 10, Ukraine's PM Yulia Tymoshenko said there will be no early parliamentary elections, defying a presidential decree and raising the stakes in her fierce political battle with the president. She said Ukraine has no money for an early election and predicted that parliament will not pass the necessary legislation.
(AP, 10/10/08)
2008 Oct 15, The IMF said Ukrainian authorities have asked the International Monetary Fund for help in stemming a financial crisis in the country. The government took emergency measures to rescue banks and stabilize the national currency, the hryvnia, after worried depositors withdrew more than US$1 billion from their accounts this month.
(AP, 10/15/08)
2008 Oct 22, Russia's foreign minister said Moscow wants to negotiate an extension of its lease at Ukraine's Black Sea port of Sevastopol. The move would keep Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the port where it has been stationed for centuries.
(AP, 10/22/08)
2008 Oct 23, The Ukrainian currency plunged against the dollar as people raced to exchange booths to convert their savings into US currency. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Russia’s desire to extend its port lease at Sevastopol "cannot be a subject of discussion." It said that Russian ships will have to leave Ukrainian waters in 2017.
(AP, 10/23/08)
2008 Oct 26, The IMF said it has reached a tentative agreement to provide Ukraine with $16.5 billion in loans over the next 2 years to help the country out of financial turmoil.
(SFC, 10/27/08, p.D1)
2008 Nov 5, Libya's Moamer Kadhafi met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in his traditional Bedouin tent during a visit to Kiev expected to focus on energy and military cooperation.
(AFP, 11/6/08)
2008 Dec 9, Ukraine lawmakers forged a 3-party coalition ending months of deadlock. It put back together the fractured alliance of Pres. Yuschenko and rival PM Tymoshenko along with another smaller party.
(SFC, 12/10/08, p.A4)
2008 Dec 24, Russian energy giant Gazprom threatened to cut gas deliveries to Ukraine on January 1 if a new contract is not signed by then for 2009 but pledged to honor its supply obligations to Europe.
(AFP, 12/24/08)
2008 Dec 24, In southern Ukraine an apartment building was destroyed in a nighttime explosion that killed 27 people in the Crimea peninsula resort of Yevpatoria. The explosion was likely caused by a leak from oxygen canisters in the building's basement.
(AP, 12/25/08)(AFP, 12/26/08)
2008 Dec 30, The Ukrainian government issued a decree saying two state banks would lend state energy company Naftogaz Ukrainy up to $2 billion to pay its arrears to Russia’s Gazprom. Disagreements remained on future gas costs.
(WSJ, 12/31/08, p.A5)
2008 Kiev university students established Femen, a group whose main aims are to improve the role of women in Ukraine's male-dominated, post-Soviet society. By 2010 it had become a small army of 300 mainly student activists ready to peel off in public to support Ukrainian women's rights.
(Reuters, 11/15/10)
2009 Jan 1, Russia cut off the gas to Ukraine after a contract dispute but increased supplies to other European states to try to reassure customers worried about possible disruption.
(Reuters, 1/1/09)
2009 Jan 2, Ukraine sought support in European capitals a day after Russia cut off gas supplies and hardened its stance on prices. The cutoff came after Ukraine made a $1.5 billion overdue payment, but Russia demanded another $600 million, including $450 million penalties for the late payment for gas shipped in November and December. The two sides also have not agreed on prices for 2009. Russia accused Ukraine of stealing gas destined for the rest of Europe.
(AP, 1/2/09)(Reuters, 1/2/09)
2009 Jan 3, Russian gas flows to four European Union countries fell normal levels after Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine in a pricing row with no talks in sight to resolve the dispute. Bulgaria's Bulgargaz joined energy firms in Poland, Romania and Hungary in saying they had noted falls in supply.
(Reuters, 1/3/09)
2009 Jan 4, Russia asked the EU to provide monitoring of Ukraine's gas transit system and charged Ukraine was stealing gas bound for Europe, as Kiev leveled its own charges. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said that the state-controlled company wanted $450 per 1,000 cubic meters, up from its last offer of $418. The reductions in gas supplies spread to the Czech Republic and Turkey.
(AP, 1/4/09)(Reuters, 1/4/09)
2009 Jan 6, A natural gas crisis loomed over Europe, as a contract dispute between Russia and Ukraine shut off Russian gas supplies to six countries and reduced gas deliveries to several others. Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments.
(AP, 1/6/09)
2009 Jan 7, The EU said Russia and Ukraine will accept using international monitors to verify the transit of natural gas from Russia through Ukraine's pipelines. Russia's gas giant Gazprom completely stopped sending gas to European consumers at 7:44 a.m. (0544 GMT). 80% of Russian gas shipped via Ukraine.
(AP, 1/7/09)
2009 Jan 8, Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly said it would restore supplies to Europe through Ukraine, cut off after a dispute between Moscow and Kiev, as soon as international monitors are in place.
(Reuters, 1/8/09)
2009 Jan 10, Russia and the EU took a step toward securing the resumption of gas flows to Europe when the two signed a deal on monitoring the supplies through Ukraine. PM Vladimir Putin said Russia will restart gas supplies to Europe once an EU-led monitoring mission begins to track gas transit via Ukraine.
(AP, 1/10/09)(Reuters, 1/10/09)
2009 Jan 11, Russia, Ukraine, and the EU struck an agreement to try to resume Russian supplies through Ukraine to Europe. President Dmitry Medvedev said energy giant Gazprom would only resume gas supplies once Russia had a copy of the document signed by Ukraine and once the various teams of international observers were in place. The text of the accord calls for the EU, Russia and Ukraine to each provide 25 experts to "carry out checks on the basis of equal parity both on Ukrainian and Russian territory.
(Reuters, 1/11/09)(AFP, 1/11/09)
2009 Jan 12, Russia's state-run monopoly Gazprom announced it will resume shipping natural gas to Europe, where tens of thousands of homes and buildings have been left without heat in freezing weather.
(AP, 1/12/09)
2009 Jan 13, Russia and Ukraine hotly blamed each other as Russia restarted natural gas supplies but little or no gas flowed toward Europe. EU officials watched in dismay and criticized both nations for their intransigence.
(AP, 1/13/09)
2009 Jan 14, Russia and Ukraine wrangled over gas supplies again. Bulgaria and Slovakia, cut off by the row for a freezing week, launched missions to plead for Russian gas flow to be restored.
(Reuters, 1/14/09)
2009 Jan 15, Ukraine rejected Russia's latest request to pipe natural gas westward to increasingly frustrated EU consumers, deepening the bitter economic and political dispute that has paralyzed energy shipments to Europe.
(AP, 1/15/09)
2009 Jan 17, Russia and Ukraine held gas crisis talks in Moscow that the European Union said were the "last and best chance" to resolve the row that has left Europe struggling without key gas supplies.
(AFP, 1/17/09)
2009 Jan 18, Russia and Ukraine announced a deal to end the bitter dispute that has blocked Russian natural gas from Europe following talks between Russian PM Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko. Under the terms, Ukraine will pay 20 percent less than the European "market price" price for gas this year, which Russia says is $450 per 1,000 cubic meters. That's more than twice as much as the $179.50 Ukraine paid in 2008.
(AP, 1/18/09)
2009 Jan 19, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal that restores natural gas shipments to Ukraine and paves the way for an end to the nearly two-week cutoff of most Russian gas to a freezing Europe.
(AP, 1/19/09)
2009 Jan 20, Russian gas reached Europe via Ukraine for the first time in two weeks after Moscow and Kiev ended a contract row that cut supplies to about 20 European countries.
(Reuters, 1/20/09)
2009 Feb 5, Somali pirates said that they were freeing, a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and other heavy weapons after receiving a $3.2 million ransom. The MV Faina was seized last September 25. The Kenyan government claimed to the cargo, which included 33 Soviet-designed battle tanks.
(AP, 2/5/09)
2009 Feb 20, In Egypt 5 crew members died when a Ukrainian cargo plane crashed during takeoff, burst into flames and slid down the runway in the city of Luxor.
(AP, 2/20/09)
2009 Feb 25, Standard and Poor's said on it had cut Ukraine's credit ratings to a level indicating vulnerability to default, amid worries over whether Kiev will receive the next slice of a vital IMF loan.
(AP, 2/25/09)
2009 Feb 25, Russia issued a DVD and a thick book of historical documents to dispute claims that the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s amounted to genocide. It was argued that the Stalin-era famine was a common tragedy across Soviet farmlands.
(SFC, 2/26/09, p.A2)
2009 Mar 4, Ukrainian masked and armed security agents searched the headquarters of Naftogaz, Ukraine's natural gas company, in a raid that the firm said threatened a deal with Russia over the shipment of gas supplies to Europe. The raid was said to be connected to a criminal investigation launched this week into the alleged diversion of some 7.4 billion hryvnia ($900 million) in Russian gas by officials at Naftogaz.
(AP, 3/4/09)
2009 Mar 5, Ukraine’s Naftogaz paid its February bill for Russian gas just hours after Pres. Putin said Russia would halt supplies if Ukraine failed to meet a March 7 deadline.
(WSJ, 3/6/09, p.A10)
2009 Apr 14, Ukrainian officials said security agents have arrested a regional lawmaker and two companions for trying to sell a radioactive substance that could be used in making a dirty bomb. The legislator in the western Ternopyl region and two local businessmen were detained last week for trying to sell 8.2 pounds (3.7 kilograms) of radioactive material to an undercover agent of the security service.
(AP, 4/14/09)
2009 May 7, In eastern Ukraine 9 people were killed in an explosion at a gambling hall in Dnipropetrovsk.
(AP, 5/7/09)
2009 May 7, The European Union extended its hand to former Soviet republics, holding a summit to draw them closer into the EU orbit despite Russia's deep misgivings. Presidents, premiers and their deputies from 33 nations signed an agreement meant to extend the EU's political and economic ties. The six ex-Soviet republics to whom the “eastern partnership" would apply are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
(AP, 5/7/09)(Econ, 1/10/15, p.49)
2009 May 22, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev challenged EU leaders meeting at a summit in Khabarovsk to help Ukraine pay its gas bills in order to prevent disruption of Russian supplies to Europe.
(Reuters, 5/22/09)
2009 May 26, Libya and Ukraine signed deals to cooperate in both peaceful civilian nuclear energy and in defense during a visit by Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko.
(AP, 5/27/09)
2009 Jun 7, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko said that talks with the main opposition party on forming a coalition have collapsed, indicating a continuation of the turmoil that has plagued the country's politics and hobbled its response to the severe economic crisis.
(AP, 6/7/09)
2009 Jun 17, In Nigeria a Ukrainian plane made an emergency landing due to technical problems in the northern city of Kano. Eighteen crates of mines and ammunition, destined for Equatorial Guinea, were found aboard the aircraft. The crew and a Nigerian collaborator were detained and soon transferred to Abuja for questioning.
(AFP, 6/22/09)
2009 Jun 21, Ukrainian border guards seized 250 turtles being smuggled into the country on a train from Uzbekistan, where they had been hidden and strapped down with tape to prevent them from moving.
(AFP, 6/22/09)
2009 Jul 14, In Afghanistan a NATO-contracted helicopter was shot down killing six Ukrainian crew members on board and an Afghan child on the ground in Helmand province. A roadside bomb killed one Italian soldier and wounded three others in western Afghanistan. Another roadside blast hit a civilian vehicle in Uruzgan province, killing three people and wounded six others. US coalition and Afghan forces searched compounds in Kandahar and found bomb-making materials, mortar rounds, AK-47 rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of opium.
(AP, 7/14/09)(SFC, 7/15/09, p.A2)(AP, 7/26/09)
2009 Jul 27, The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, led solemn prayers in Kiev on the first day of 10-day visit aimed at reasserting Moscow's dominance over church leaders in Ukraine.
(AP, 7/27/09)
2009 Sep 1, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko said Russia and Ukraine have resolved a long standing dispute over natural gas supplies, after meeting her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a resort on the Baltic coast in northern Poland.
(Reuters, 9/1/09)
2009 Oct 31, The Ukrainian government ordered schools nationwide to close for 3 weeks due to swine flu, which has left 33 people dead. Public gatherings were also banned and restrictions on travel were imposed to stop the spread of the virus.
(SSFC, 11/1/09, p.A6)
2009 Nov 18, A San Francisco federal judge reduced the 9-year sentence of Pavel Lazarenko (56), a former prime minister of Ukraine (1996-1997), by 11 months. The judge also imposed a $9 million fine and nearly $26 million in forfeitures to the US government, including the value of his sold Novato mansion. Lazarenko was sentenced in 2006 for money laundering and other charges. He was said to have amassed a $250 million fortune in extortions following Ukraine’s independence in 1992.
(SFC, 11/17/09, p.C2)
2010 Jan 17, Ukrainians voted in presidential elections. Voters in the first round gave opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych, the 2004 Orange Revolution's chief target, a 35.4% to 25% lead over Orange heroine and PM Yulia Tymoshenko. Analysts said Yanukovych's lead, with 97.7% of votes counted, is misleading, because Tymoshenko is likely to pick up most of the votes of 16 also-rans in a Feb 7 runoff. Almost 67% of eligible voters cast ballots.
(Reuters, 1/17/10)(AP, 1/18/10)
2010 Jan 18, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko rushed to the east of the country after an explosion in a hospital killed seven people.
(Reuters, 1/18/10)
2010 Feb 3, Ukraine's security service said 5 Russian FSB agents were detained last month after being caught trying to obtain confidential military information from a Ukrainian citizen. The FSB said the Ukrainian citizen its agents were working with had himself been apprehended in November while allegedly spying on neighboring Moldova's Moscow-backed breakaway Trans-Dniester republic.
(AP, 2/3/10)
2010 Feb 7, Ukrainians voted between two presidential candidates in a run-off between PM Yulia Tymoshenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich which could push the country into a fresh bout of instability. Yanukovich ended with 48.95% to Tymoshenko's 45.47%, a lead of 3.48 percentage points or some 888,000 votes.
(Reuters, 2/7/10)(AP, 2/10/10)
2010 Feb 8, International monitors hailed Ukraine's presidential election as "professional, transparent and honest," increasing pressure on PM Yulia Tymoshenko to concede to opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych, who held a 2.7% point lead with all but 1.7% of the ballots cast counted.
(AP, 2/8/10)
2010 Feb 10, Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yanukovich called on defeated rival Yulia Tymoshenko to resign as prime minister, turning up the pressure even as her camp contested the result of the Feb 7 presidential election.
(Reuters, 2/10/10)
2010 Feb 14, Ukraine's election commission proclaimed pro-Russian Victor Yanukovych the official winner of the presidential poll, even as his rival Yulia Tymoshenko vowed to contest the results in court.
(AFP, 2/14/10)
2010 Feb 20, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko dropped her legal challenge to her rival's presidential election victory, saying she had lost faith in the country's courts.
(AFP, 2/20/10)
2010 Feb 24, Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko challenged her opponents to oust her in a no-confidence vote, aiming to show they don't have enough votes to do so.
(AP, 2/24/10)
2010 Mar 1, Ukraine’s Pres. Viktor Yanukovych visited Brussels saying "Our priorities will include integration into the European Union, bringing up constructive relations with the Russian Federation, and developing friendly relations with strategic partners such as the United States."
(AP, 3/1/10)
2010 Mar 2, In Ukraine PM Yulia Tymoshenko's pro-Western "Orange" coalition dissolved, losing its majority in parliament and paving the way for the new president to consolidate his power.
(AP, 3/2/10)
2010 Mar 3, The Ukrainian parliament ousted the government of PM Yulia Tymoshenko in a no-confidence vote, dealing a final blow to the leadership of the pro-Western Orange Revolution and leaving her to lead the opposition in parliament. The no-confidence resolution passed with 243 votes in the 450-seat chamber.
(AP, 3/3/10)
2010 Mar 11, Ukrainian lawmakers formed a new majority coalition around President Viktor Yanukovych. Before forming the new governing coalition, Yanukovych signed a new law allowing individual deputies to break away from their parliamentary factions, which allowed his coalition to eventually control 235 of the chamber's 450 seats. Mykola Azarov, who served as Yanukovych's campaign strategist in this year's presidential elections, was chosen as premier.
(AP, 3/11/10)
2010 Apr 21, The presidents of Ukraine and Russia agreed to extend the stay of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Ukrainian port of Sevastopol to 2042 after the existing lease expires in 2017. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Kiev will receive large discounts on gas shipments in return for certainty over the base's future, $100 for every 1,000 cubic meters of gas or 30 percent if the benchmark price falls below $330.
(AP, 4/21/10)(SFC, 4/22/10, p.A2)
2010 Apr 24, Ukraine's political opposition sought to rally people against a decision by President Viktor Yanukovich to allow the Russian navy to stay in Ukraine's Crimea until 2042.
(Reuters, 4/24/10)
2010 Apr 27, Ukraine's parliament erupted into chaos as deputies scuffled and hurled smoke bombs during a tumultuous session that ratified a bitterly contested deal with Russia extending a naval base lease.
(AFP, 4/27/10)
2010 May 5, Ukraine Communists unveiled a monument to Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in front of the party's office in the city of Zaporizhya., sparking the anger of Ukrainian nationalists.
(AP, 5/5/10)
2010 May 17, Russian Pres. Medvedev visited Kiev, Ukraine, and oversaw the signing of several cooperation deals with the new Moscow-friendly leadership of Pres. Viktor Yanukovych.
(SFC, 5/18/10, p.A2)
2010 Jun 1, Ukraine's new president, accused by opponents of moving the country into Moscow's orbit, outlined a foreign policy bill that ditches his predecessor's aim to join NATO but keeps EU membership as a long-term goal.
(AP, 6/1/10)
2010 Jun 3, Ukraine's Parliament, prodded by pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych, approved a bill that cements the country's neutrality and prevents it from joining NATO.
(AP, 6/3/10)
2010 Aug 20, Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych said he is taking control of the case of Vasyl Klymentyev, an investigative reporter who has been missing for a week. Klymentyev reportedly was threatened after refusing to accept a bribe to halt publication of a story about a regional prosecutor accused of accepting bribes to close criminal cases.
(AP, 8/20/10)
2010 Sep, The FBI and its counterparts in Ukraine, the Netherlands and Britain took down a cyber-theft ring they first got wind of in May 2009 when a financial services firm tipped the bureau's Omaha, Neb., office to suspicious transactions. Since then, the FBI's Operation Trident Breach has uncovered losses of $14 million and counting.
(AP, 11/22/10)
2010 Oct 1, Ukraine's Constitutional Court shifted key powers from parliament to the presidency, a move that boosted the influence of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, but also threw the country into legal uncertainty.
(AP, 10/1/10)
2010 Oct 6, Local media reported that Ukraine has adopted a dress code for government workers. The code called on men working at the Cabinet of Ministers to wear mostly gray and dark blue suits and not wear the same suit to work two days in a row. Women were asked to stick to business suits and low-heeled shoes, as well as refrain from excessive makeup and jewelry.
(AP, 10/6/10)
2010 Oct 12, In eastern Ukraine a train crashed into a crowded bus, killing 43 people on the bus, including two children, and injuring nearly a dozen others. PM Mykola Azarov ordered his government to pay the family of each of the dead victims 100,000 hryvnia ($12,600). He also instructed transport officials to install automated crossing gates at all the nation's railway crossings to prevent cars, buses and trucks from ignoring the siren.
(AP, 10/12/10)(SFC, 10/13/10, p.A2)
2010 Oct 13, In the Ukraine for the second time in two days, a vehicle ignored a warning light at a railroad crossing and was hit by a train in a fatal accident killing 2 people.
(AP, 10/14/10)
2010 Oct 31, Ukraine voted for local councils and mayors in an election which should provide the first real clues to Pres. Yanukovich's standing at home since his election last February. Exit polls said Yanukovych’s swept elections to regional councils throughout the country.
(Reuters, 10/31/10)(AP, 11/1/10)
2010 Dec 16, A fierce fight in Ukraine's parliament sent at least six lawmakers to the hospital with concussions, a fractured jaw and multiple bruises, setting a new low for the often-tumultuous body. Pro-Tymoshenko legislators had been blocking legislative work all day, protesting a corruption probe against her.
(AP, 12/17/10)
2010 Dec 16, Human Rights Watch urged the EU to stop returning migrants and asylum seekers to Ukraine, saying that they faced abuse and torture in the former Soviet republic.
(Reuters, 12/16/10)
2010 Dec 26, Ukraine's security service detained former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko, the latest move in a crackdown on the previous government since Pres. Yanukovich took power. The state prosecutor's office this month charged Lutsenko with abuse of office, saying he had embezzled state funds. He denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the charges as politically motivated.
(Reuters, 12/26/10)
2011 Jan 27, Ukraine's state prosecutors office announced new criminal charges against former PM Yulia Tymoshenko over the alleged illegal purchase of 1,000 vehicles in the run-up to the 2010 presidential election.
(Reuters, 1/27/11)
2011 Feb 19, Dirar Abu Sisi (42), a Palestinian engineer, went missing "under unknown circumstances" after boarding a train in the Ukraine city of Kharkiv bound for the capital Kiev. The UN refugee agency later confirmed his wife's fears that he is being held in prison by the Israeli secret service. Sisi's Ukrainian wife, Veronika (32), alleged the Israeli secret service Mossad carried out the abduction in order to sabotage a key electric power plant in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip where he worked as a senior manager.
(AP, 3/10/11)
2011 Mar 24, Former Ukraine Pres. Leonid Kuchma said he has been charged in the 2000 slaying of investigative reporter Heorhiy Gongadze.
(SFC, 3/25/11, p.A2)
2011 May 4, Ukrainian prosecutors said they have opened a criminal investigation against the former head of the Kiev Zoo, where hundreds of animals have died or gone mysteriously missing in recent years. Svitlana Berzina was suspected of embezzling some $47,000 (euro32,000) from the zoo by commissioning projects that weren't fully carried out, if at all. Berzina was fired last year after nearly one-half of the zoo's animals either died or disappeared.
(AP, 5/4/11)
2011 Jun 20, Chinese President Hu Jintao made a rare visit to Ukraine to sign a strategic partnership declaration as Beijing seeks to revive ties with the ex-Soviet state after years of neglect. Hu Jintao oversaw the signing of business deals worth $3.5 billion.
(AFP, 6/20/11)(AP, 6/20/11)
2011 Jun 24, Ukraine's former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko went on trial on charges of abuse of office, insisting during a chaotic hearing that the case is a plot by the nation's president to keep her out of politics.
(AP, 6/24/11)
2011 Jul 2, In Germany Wladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine became the undisputed world heavyweight champion by beating Great Britain's David Haye on a unanimous points decision at Hamburg's football stadium.
(AFP, 7/2/11)
2011 Jul 10, In western Ukraine a fire tore through a home for the elderly, killing 16 people in the village of Bile.
(AP, 7/10/11)
2011 Jul 29, In eastern Ukraine a pre-dawn methane explosion at the notoriously dangerous Suhodilska-Eastern mine in the Luhansk region killed 20 workers. Hours later an elevator used to transport miners and equipment into and out of the Bazhanova mine in the eastern Donetsk region collapsed, killing 7 workers. 10 miners all told remained missing.
(AP, 7/29/11)(AP, 7/30/11)
2011 Aug 5, Ukraine police arrested former PM Yulia Tymoshenko during her abuse-of-office trial for violations of court procedures.
(SFC, 8/6/11, p.A2)
2011 Aug 24, In Ukraine over 5,000 opposition activists rallied on the 20th anniversary of Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union, protesting the arrest of former PM Yulia Tymoshenko and demanding early elections.
(AP, 8/24/11)
2011 Sep 1, Ukraine opened shale gas development to Western giants, assigning its first exploration contract to the Anglo-Dutch firm Shell in a deal worth up to $800 million (555 million euros).
(AFP, 9/1/11)
2011 Sep 3, In Tajikistan leaders from eight former Soviet states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) gathered to celebrate enduring cooperation over the two decades since their nations collectively gained independence, but mutual acrimony and recriminations cast a shadow over the event.
(AP, 9/3/11)
2011 Oct 11, Ukraine's former PM Yulia Tymoshenko (50) was sentenced to 7 years in prison on charges of abuse of office in signing a gas deal with Russia, a verdict immediately condemned by the European Union as politically motivated. The sentence also included a 3-year ban on public office and a fine of $190 million.
(AP, 10/11/11)(Econ, 10/15/11, p.59)
2011 Oct 13, Ukraine's Pres. Viktor Yanukovych, facing harsh Western criticism, said that he backs legal reforms that could allow the release of imprisoned former PM Yulia Tymoshenko.
(AP, 10/13/11)
2011 Dec 8, Kiev's Shevchenkivsky Court ordered former PM Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko arrested as part of a probe into the activity of an energy company she headed 15 years ago.
(AP, 12/9/11)
2011 Charles King authored “Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams."
(Econ, 2/26/11, p.90)
2012 Jan 6, The Czech Republic granted asylum to Oleksandr Tymoshenko, the husband of jailed former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko. He requested asylum because a criminal investigation has been launched against him in Ukraine in an attempt to increase pressure on his jailed wife.
(AP, 1/6/12)
2012 Jan 28, At Davos, Switzerland, 3 topless Ukrainian protesters were detained while trying to break into an invitation-only gathering of international CEOs and political leaders to call attention to the needs of the world's poor. Separately, demonstrators from the Occupy movement marched to the edge of the gathering.
(AP, 1/28/12)
2012 Jan 31, Ukrainian authorities said that the number of people who died of hypothermia in recent days has reached 30 as the country grapples with an unusually severe cold spell. In all, at least 58 people have died from the cold in Europe over the last week.
(AP, 1/31/12)
2012 Jan 31, The ship, Vera, with 10 Ukrainian and one Georgian crew, was sailing to Turkey's Aliaga port from Russia when it sank off the coast of Eregli in stormy waters. 8 of the crew were reported missing following the rescue of 3 people.
(AP, 2/1/12)
2012 Feb 1, The death toll from a severe cold spell in Eastern Europe rose to 71, including 43 in the Ukraine, most of them homeless people.
(AP, 2/1/12)
2012 Feb 3, Ukraine's government blamed Russia for natural gas shortages in some European countries as a severe cold spell grips the region. Germany, Italy and Austria have reported cutbacks in Russian gas supplies, but Russia's energy giant Gazprom has blamed them on Kiev, accusing Ukraine of siphoning off gas destined for European consumers.
(AP, 2/3/12)
2012 Feb 3, The death toll from a severe cold spell in Eastern Europe rose to 222, including 101 in the Ukraine, 37 in Poland, 24 in Romania and 16 in Bulgaria.
(AFP, 2/1/12)
2012 Feb 4, The Ukrainian Security Service detained a man sought by Russian authorities on charges of terrorism and two of his accomplices in Odessa. On Feb 27 the detainees were reported to be linked to an anti-Putin plot.
(AP, 2/27/12)
2012 Feb 5, Bosnia used helicopters to evacuate people and deliver food to those stranded by heavy snowfall. The cold snap across Eastern Europe has left at least 280 people dead including 131 in Ukraine.
(SFC, 2/6/12, p.A2)
2012 Feb 15, Authorities said more than 600 people in Eastern Europe have died during a record-breaking cold snap. Officials in the Czech Republic blamed two massive car pile-ups on blinding snow. Authorities in Russia said 205 people have died, while in Ukraine there have been 112 fatalities; in Poland, 107. Authorities said 7 people have died in Romania in the past 24 hours, bringing the total there to 86 deaths.
(AP, 2/15/12)
2012 Mar 9, In Ukraine Oksana Makar (18) was invited by two young men, ages 21 and 23, to their friend's apartment, where the three men allegedly gang-raped her, tried to choke her to death, wrapped her in a sheet, took her to a construction site, dumped her in a pit and set her on fire. After surgery 55% of her skin was gone, her kidneys were completely burned, and one of her arms and both her feet had to be amputated. The suspects were arrested the next day, but two of them were released soon after. The two men who were released are the sons of former government officials.
(AP, 3/18/12)
2012 Mar 9, In Ukraine Oksana Makar (18) was invited by two young men, ages 21 and 23, to their friend's apartment, where the three men allegedly gang-raped her, tried to choke her to death, wrapped her in a sheet, took her to a construction site, dumped her in a pit and set her on fire. After surgery 55% of her skin was gone, her kidneys were completely burned, and one of her arms and both her feet had to be amputated. The suspects were arrested the next day, but two of them were released soon after. The two men who were released are the sons of former government officials. On March 13 the two men were arrested, and all three suspects were charged with attempted murder. Makar died of her injuries on March 29. Murder was added to the rape chargers against the suspects.
(http://tinyurl.com/798q68z)(AP, 3/29/12)
2012 Apr 6, A Russian-Ukrainian crew of 8 on board the 29-meter Scorpius yacht, that set sail in September on an historic expedition around the South and North Poles, went missing in the Antarctic.
(AFP, 4/6/12)
2012 Apr 20, Jailed former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko went on hunger strike after prison guards allegedly beat her. She had refused to be treated for a severe spinal condition at the Kharkiv clinic because she doesn't trust government-appointed doctors.
(AP, 4/24/12)
2012 Apr 23, Ukraine's two biggest pro-Western opposition parties announced they will be joining forces in the fall parliamentary election in order to challenge Pres. Viktor Yanukovych's grip on power.
(AP, 4/23/12)
2012 Apr 27, In Ukraine four blasts within minutes rocked the center of Dnipropetrovsk in what prosecutors believed was a terrorist attack. Nine children were among the 31 injured. The crime was investigated as a terrorist attack and 4 men were soon arrested.
(AP, 4/27/12)(AFP, 4/28/12)(AP, 6/1/12)
2012 May 4, Ukraine's jailed and ailing ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko tentatively agreed to have her back condition treated at a local hospital under the supervision of a German doctor.
(AP, 5/4/12)
2012 May 21, A group of Ukrainians announced a project to provide free accommodation, translation and other services to foreign football fans attending next month's European Championship. UEFA President Michel Platini has called on the government to stop "bandits and crooks" from ripping off fans with exorbitant accommodation prices. Euro 2012, jointly held with Poland, begins June 8.
(AP, 5/21/12)
2012 May 24, In Ukraine a melee in the parliament was sparked by a proposed bill to make Russian an official language in eastern regions of the country with large native Russian-speaking populations. Lawmakers grappled and threw punches. One was hospitalized with a head injury.
(AP, 5/25/12)
2012 Jun 4, A Libyan military court handed stiff prison terms to 19 Ukrainians, three nationals from Belarus and two Russians accused of serving as mercenaries for ousted leader Moamer Kadhafi in Libya's conflict last year. One of the Russians, judged to have been the coordinator, was condemned to life imprisonment while the others were sentenced to 10 years' hard labor.
(AFP, 6/4/12)
2012 Jun 10, In Ukraine a small plane carrying skydivers crash-landed in bad weather near Kiev, killing five and injuring 15 people.
(AP, 6/10/12)
2012 Jun 28, Amnesty International said both South Sudan's army and rebel groups are using weapons imported from China, Ukraine and neighboring Sudan in fighting that has claimed dozens of civilian lives. Amnesty said the army was using Ukrainian-supplied T-72 battle tanks and that the rebel SSLA laid Chinese-made anti-vehicle mines and were firing Sudanese-made ammunition.
(AFP, 6/28/12)
2012 Jul 4, Ukraine opposition activists clashed with riot police in the center of Kiev and Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn resigned after the legislature passed a bill that would upgrade the status of the Russian language. The president has said he has not decided whether to approve or veto the bill, but Lytvyn's resignation was likely to delay that process because it cannot be submitted to the president without the speaker's signature.
(AP, 7/4/12)
2012 Jul 5, In Ukraine some 1,000 opposition activists rallied in Kiev to protest legislation upgrading the status of the Russian language.
(AP, 7/5/12)
2012 Jul 7, In Ukraine a bus carrying Russian religious pilgrims crashed killing 14 of 45 people onboard near Chernihiv.
(SSFC, 7/8/12, p.A4)
2012 Jul 26, In Ukraine a bare-breasted feminist activist bearing a threatening message on her body tried to attack the Russian Orthodox Church's leader Patriarch Kirill at Kiev's airport, to protest alleged anti-Ukrainian policies by the church and the Kremlin. Femen identified the woman as Yana Zhdanova.
(AP, 7/26/12)
2012 Aug 29, Ukraine's highest court upheld the guilty verdict against former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, who is in jail on abuse of office charges.
(AP, 8/29/12)
2012 Sep 8, In Ukraine hundreds of demonstrators rallied in the center of Kiev to protest what they call the government's crackdown on one of the few remaining independent TV channels ahead of parliamentary elections in late October.
(AP, 9/8/12)
2012 Sep 29, Ukraine's jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko exhorted her country to "rise up" against President Viktor Yanukovych's party in next month's parliamentary election.
(AP, 9/29/12)
2012 Oct 9, In Syria Ankhar Kochneva, a Ukrainian woman who worked as an interpreter for a Russian TV crew, was kidnapped by rebels in the country's west. Kochneva was reported free on March 12, 2013.
(AP, 10/16/12)(AP, 3/12/13)
2012 Oct 28, Ukrainians voted in an election that was expected to maintain President Viktor Yanukovych's parliamentary majority, despite his rollback on democracy during nearly three years in power. An exit poll showed Yanukovych's Party of Regions ahead with some 28.1 percent of the vote. Tymoshenko's Fatherland party was poised to get about 25 percent of the proportional vote, while the Udar (Punch) led by world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko was set to get around 15 percent.
(AP, 10/28/12)(AP, 10/29/12)
2012 Nov 16, Yulio Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s jailed opposition leader, ended her 18-day hunger strike after discussion with her German doctors.
(SFC, 11/16/12, p.A5)
2012 Dec 13, In Ukraine a violent brawl between supporters of the president and opposition lawmaker broke out in parliament, nearly overshadowing the naming of a new pro-government speaker to lead the fractious body. Opposition lawmakers were angry over the fact that some of their opponents continued the controversial practice of voting in place of their absent colleagues, despite a recent ban.
(AP, 12/13/12)
2012 Dec 15, In Ukraine Kharkiv Judge Volodymyr Trofimov (58), his wife, son and the son's girlfriend were found dead in Trofimov's apartment. All the bodies had been decapitated and the heads were missing. This was Judge's Day in Ukraine.
(AP, 12/17/12)
2012 Dec 18, Ukrainian health officials said 37 people have died from the severe cold spell that hit the country this month.
(AP, 12/18/12)
2012-2014 Rick Gates, a business associate of Paul Manafort, the 2016 campaign chairman for Donald Trump, personally directed two Washington lobbying firms, Mercury LLC and the Podesta Group Inc., to set up meetings between a top Ukrainian official and senators and congressmen on influential committees involving Ukrainian interests. Gates directed efforts to undercut sympathy for Yulia Tymoshenko, an imprisoned rival President Viktor Yanukovych.
(AP, 8/19/16)(SFC, 2/23/18, p.A5)
2013 Jan 18, Ukrainian authorities formally notified jailed former PM Yulia Tymoshenko that she is a suspect in the murder of Yvhen Scherban, a businessman and lawmaker, his wife and two other people in 1996.
(AP, 1/19/13)
2013 Jan 24, Ukraine sealed a deal with Shell allowing the company to probe for shale gas.
(Econ, 2/2/13, p.53)
2013 Feb 12, In Ukraine a 600-square-meter (6,500-square-foot) section of the roof over the turbine hall at the fourth power block at Chernobyl collapsed due to heavy snowfall. A new giant arch-shaped confinement is currently being constructed over the old sarcophagus. The construction of the new shelter was not affected by the accident.
(AP, 2/13/13)
2013 Feb 13, Ukrainian officials sought to reassure the public that radiation levels were unaffected at Chernobyl and there was no safety threat after a partial roof collapse at the exploded nuclear power plant.
(AP, 2/13/13)
2013 Feb 13, Ukraine reached a tentative agreement with Turkmenistan to resume imports of natural gas from the energy-rich Central Asian nation. Completion of the deal would require the consent of Kazakhstan and Russia as transit nations.
(AP, 2/13/13)
2013 Feb 13, In Ukraine a small Soviet-designed AN-24 plane carrying soccer fans headed for a match skidded past the landing strip and overturned in the eastern city of Donetsk, killing five people.
(AP, 2/13/13)
2013 Mar 23, In Ukraine the city of Kiev declared a state of emergency after it was paralyzed by an unprecedented snowstorm that has stalled car, railway and air traffic.
(AP, 3/23/13)
2013 Apr 4, Ukrainian lawmakers held two competing parliament sessions after pro-government legislators stormed out of the official parliament hall and moved to a nearby building in response to a protest by opposition parties.
(AP, 4/4/13)
2013 Apr 4, The Ukraine-based group Femen, which stages pranks for women's and gay rights, held an International Topless Jihad day in support of Muslim women. In Tunisia a woman named Amina participated and went into hiding after reportedly receiving death threats. On Apr 6 she reappeared in an interview on French cable TV station Canal Plus saying she fears for her life and wants to take refuge abroad.
(AP, 4/7/13)
2013 Apr 7, Ukraine’s Pres. Viktor Yanukovych pardoned former Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko and former environment minister Heorhiy Filipchuk.
(SFC, 4/8/13, p.A2)
2013 May 25, In Kiev, Ukraine, between 50 and 100 gay rights activists staged the ex-Soviet nation's first-ever gay pride parade under heavy police presence.
(AP, 5/25/13)
2013 Jun 26, In Ukraine Irina Krashkova (29) was beaten and raped by local police in Vradiyevka. The officers involved were not arrested until enraged residents stormed the police station in protest.
(AP, 7/21/13)(http://tinyurl.com/lf25gh4)
2013 Jul 2, Ukraine's president ordered a top-level inquiry after a night of violence in a small southern town in which people angered by the rape of a local woman in which they said police were involved attacked a police headquarters with petrol bombs.
(Reuters, 7/2/13)
2013 Jul 19, Ukrainian riot police dispersed a protest in central Kiev early today over last month's rape of a woman who accused police officers of the crime.
(Reuters, 7/19/13)
2013 Aug 6, Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry said that a pipe carrying liquid ammonia depressurized at the Stirol plant in the east of the country, causing the release of the chemical. The leak killed 5 people and sickened more than 20.
(AP, 8/6/13)
2013 Aug 15, Ukrainian politicians accused Russia of starting a trade war to pressure the country against signing a cooperation pact with the EU, bringing relations between the two former Soviet states to a new low.
(AP, 8/15/13)
2013 Aug 30, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said he had no legal powers to allow jailed rival Yulia Tymoshenko to go abroad for medical treatment as some European governments have urged, but hinted compromise might be found if the law was changed.
(Reuters, 8/30/13)
2013 Sep 3, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich urged parliament to pass laws to underpin the country's pro-Europe drive, even as Russia renewed pressure on Kiev to halt its westward course.
(Reuters, 9/3/13)
2013 Sep 11, The European Union rejected Russian pressure to deter Ukraine and other former Soviet republics from deepening trade ties with Europe, saying any kind of retaliation was unacceptable.
(Reuters, 9/11/13)
2013 Sep 18, Ukraine formally gave the go-ahead for landmark trade deals to be signed with the European Union, disregarding pressure from Moscow for Kiev to halt its westward course.
(Reuters, 9/18/13)
2013 Oct 2, Ukrainian police fired tear gas to disperse protesters trying to enter the city council building in the capital Kiev. Thousands of opposition protesters had gathered to rally against what they say is an illegitimate council session.
(Reuters, 10/2/13)
2013 Oct 21, The party of Ukraine's jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko (52) rejected President Viktor Yanukovich's terms for her release and European envoys said time was running out to solve a row threatening agreements with the EU.
(Reuters, 10/21/13)
2013 Oct 29, Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev says Russia will ask Ukraine to start pre-paying for gas supplies in case Ukraine doesn't settle outstanding debts. He was reacting to a complaint of Alexei Miller, chief executive of Russian gas giant Gazprom, who said Ukraine owes Russia $882 million for the August deliveries and was due to pay for it by Oct 1.
(AP, 10/29/13)
2013 Nov 1, In Tasmania int’l. negotiations ended after China, Russia and Ukraine scuttled plans to create the world's largest ocean sanctuary in Antarctica. The sanctuary plans were led by the Antarctic Ocean Alliance which campaigns for protecting the Antarctic seas. For the sanctuary proposals to pass, they needed backing from all 200 delegates from 25 member countries, many of which have conflicting interests.
(Reuters, 11/1/13)(SFC, 11/2/13, p.A2)
2013 Nov 13, More than one-half of the editorial staff at the Ukrainian edition of Forbes quit to protest what they say is censorship imposed by the new management. They resigned after the new chief editor rejected a previously approved project to investigate a top government official, First Deputy PM Serhiy Arbuzov, an ally of the president.
(AP, 11/13/13)
2013 Nov 21, The Ukrainian government announced it was suspending its preparations for the signing of a landmark agreement with the EU. President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said that Russia welcomed Kiev's desire to improve trade ties with Moscow, signaling satisfaction with the Ukrainian government decision.
(AP, 11/21/13)(Reuters, 11/21/13)
2013 Nov 21, Ukraine's parliament rejected draft laws that would allow jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko to go to Germany for medical treatment.
(Reuters, 11/21/13)
2013 Nov 22, Thousands of protesters poured into Kiev's Independence Square, the center of Ukraine's pro-Western Orange Revolution, to demand that the government reverse course and sign a landmark agreement with the EU.
(AP, 11/22/13)
2013 Nov 24, Some 50,000 Ukrainians, bearing EU flags and chanting "Down with the gang!", marched through Kiev in a pro-Europe rally denouncing President Yanukovich's U-turn in policy back towards Russia.
(AP, 11/24/13)
2013 Nov 25, The EU expressed strong disapproval of Russian pressure on Ukraine to reject an EU trade deal, while police fired tear gas at pro-Europe protesters in the former Soviet republic.
(Reuters, 11/25/13)
2013 Nov 26, In Ukraine several thousand students ditched classes and joined protests in the center of Kiev against the government's abrupt move to freeze integration with the West and tilt toward Moscow.
(AP, 11/26/13)
2013 Nov 27, In the Ukraine thousands of people demonstrated in central Kiev for a fifth straight day to protest the government’s decision not to sign an agreement with the EU but to restore ties with Russia instead.
(AP, 11/27/13)
2013 Nov 28, EU leaders meeting in Vilnius sought to revive a stalled agreement with Ukraine after the former Soviet republic shocked the 28-country bloc last week by opting for closer ties with Russia instead.
(AP, 11/28/13)
2013 Nov 29, In Ukraine thousands protested in Kiev, demanding the president's resignation after he shelved a landmark agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
(AP, 11/29/13)
2013 Nov 30, Ukrainian police in Kiev broke up a large anti-government demonstration in the city center before dawn, swinging truncheons and injuring many. Protesters took refuge inside the walls of a central Kiev monastery. The opposition demanded that authorities call early presidential and parliamentary polls.
(AP, 11/30/13)(AFP, 11/30/13)(Reuters, 11/30/13)
2013 Dec 1, In Ukraine some 300,000 demonstrators chased away police to rally in the center of Kiev, defying a government ban on protests on Independence Square over the president's refusal to sign an agreement with the EU. Opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, addressing hundreds of thousands of protesters, called on President Viktor Yanukovich and his government to resign. The protests turned violent when a group of demonstrators besieged the president's office and police drove them back with truncheons, tear gas and flash grenades.
(AP, 12/1/13)(Reuters, 12/1/13)
2013 Dec 2, In Ukraine about 1,000 protesters blocked off the government's main headquarters and surrounding streets, preventing employees getting to work, in further protests at Kiev's policy U-turn away from integration with Europe.
(AP, 12/2/13)
2013 Dec 3, Ukraine's opposition failed to force out the government with a parliamentary no-confidence vote, leaving the country's political tensions unresolved with calls for more mass protests.
(AP, 12/3/13)
2013 Dec 4, Ukraine's PM Mykola Azarov warned protesters trying to blockade government buildings they would be punished for any "illegal acts", as officials went to Moscow seeking aid to avoid a financial meltdown. Thousands of people continued to rally in Kiev against the decision to freeze ties with the EU and get closer to Russia.
(Reuters, 12/4/13)(AP, 12/4/13)
2013 Dec 6, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich flew to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin, seeking aid to shore up a creaking economy as protesters back home, opposed to his U-turn away from Europe, defied police.
(Reuters, 12/6/13)
2013 Dec 8, Several hundred thousand Ukrainians occupied a central square in the capital, denouncing President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to turn away from Europe and align with Russia. Protesters in the square knocked down a 3.4 meter statue of Vladimir Lenin, erected in 1946.
(AP, 12/8/13)(AFP, 12/8/13)
2013 Dec 9, In Ukraine hundreds of police in full riot gear flooded into the center of Kiev as mass anti-government protests gripped the capital for yet another week. Heavily armed riot troops broke into the offices of a top opposition party in Kiev and seized its servers.
(AP, 12/9/13)
2013 Dec 10, In Ukraine about 2,000 pro-Europe protesters huddled by braziers in their main tented camp in snowbound Kiev, in defiance of riot police who herded them away from government buildings overnight.
(Reuters, 12/10/13)
2013 Dec 11, Ukrainian police pulled back as protesters claimed victory after an overnight face-off in which authorities removed barricades and tents and scuffled with demonstrators occupying Kiev's main square.
(AP, 12/11/13)
2013 Dec 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin used his state-of-the-nation address to defend conservative values, referring obliquely to his government's anti-gay stance as he chided the West for treating "good and evil" equally. Putin also made a new attempt to woo Ukraine after the EU and US stepped up efforts to pull Kiev out of its former Soviet master's orbit. He also announced a set of initiatives to crack down on Russian companies who register and pay taxes in offshore jurisdictions.
(AP, 12/12/13)
2013 Dec 13, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich made few concessions in crisis talks with the opposition, his first direct attempt to defuse weeks of unrest over a policy swerve to Russia away from Europe. A Ukrainian court released all those arrested during a violent police dispersal of demonstrators near the presidential administration building, one of the demands of the opposition that has conducted three weeks of large protests.
(Reuters, 12/13/13)(AP, 12/13/13)
2013 Dec 14, Tens of thousands of Ukrainians rallied in support of President Viktor Yanukovich in central Kiev, separated by a line of riot police from anti-government protesters who have camped out for weeks in a nearby square. Authorities conceded to one of the demands of weeks-long protests, opening investigations against four top officials and suspending two of them from office over the violent police response to a small demonstration last month.
(Reuters, 12/14/13)(AP, 12/14/13)
2013 Dec 15, In Ukraine about 200,000 anti-government protesters converged on the central square of Kiev in a dramatic show of morale after nearly four weeks of daily protests. The EU said it has suspended association talks with Ukraine until it receives a firmer commitment from Yanukovych that Ukraine was serious about the deal.
(AP, 12/15/13)(AFP, 12/15/13)
2013 Dec 16, Ukraine's ruling party demanded a sweeping cabinet reshuffle in a sign the leadership was seeking to placate the opposition in a bitter standoff over a rejected EU pact.
(AFP, 12/16/13)
2013 Dec 17, Russian and Ukrainian officials signed a series of agreements in Moscow to boost trade and industrial cooperation.
(AP, 12/17/13)
2013 Dec 20, Russia closed a deal to buy Ukraine's newly-issued $3 billion Eurobond, part of a $15 billion bailout of its smaller neighbor.
(Reuters, 12/23/13)
2013 Dec 22, Ukrainian opposition leaders urged supporters at a rally to stay on Kiev's main square through New Year and Christmas, as street protests appeared to be losing momentum.
(Reuters, 12/22/13)
2013 Dec 23, Russia bought $3 billion worth of Ukrainian bonds, the first batch of a promised $15 billion, in a bid to support its neighbor's economy.
(AP, 12/24/13)
2013 Dec 25, Ukrainian opposition activist and journalist Tetyana Chornovil (34), known for her investigations into corruption among senior state officials, was beaten up by unknown attackers. Chornovil was assaulted near Kiev hours after an article she wrote on the assets of top government officials was published. Opposition activists quickly gathered outside the Interior Ministry in Kiev and demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko.
(Reuters, 12/25/13)(SFC, 12/26/13, p.A3)
2013 Dec 29, In Ukraine some 20,000 people protested in Kiev, maintaining more than a month of rallies opposing the government's decision to shelve a key deal with the European Union.
(AP, 12/29/13)
2013 An ATM in Kiev started dispensing cash at seemingly random times of day. No one had put in a card, or touched a button. Kaspersky Lab later discovered that the bank’s internal computers had been penetrated by malware that allowed cybercriminals to record their every move. The scope of this attack on more than 100 banks and other financial institutions in 30 nations could make it one of the largest bank thefts ever. The theft was discovered when mules of the Carbanak gang, named after the malware used, were seen picking up cash apparently being randomly dispensed in Kiev.
(http://tinyurl.com/oq4jfxu)(Econ, 7/16/16, World IF p.8)
2014 Jan 1, In Ukraine about 15,000 people marched through the streets of Kiev to mark the 105th birthday of Stepan Bandera (d.1959), glorified by some as a leader of Ukraine's liberation movement and dismissed by others as a Nazi collaborator.
(AP, 1/1/14)
2014 Jan 11, Ukraine's ex-interior minister turned opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko (49) was in intensive care in hospital after being beaten in fresh clashes between pro-EU demonstrators and club-wielding police.
(AFP, 1/11/14)
2014 Jan 12, In Ukraine an estimated 50,000 pro-Western protesters massed in the heart of Kiev amid swelling anger over the bloody beating of prominent former minister turned opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko.
(AFP, 1/12/14)
2014 Jan 16, Supporters of Ukrainian Pres. Viktor Yanukovich rammed a sweeping law through parliament in an attempt to curb anti-government protests, sparking an outcry from the opposition and raising tensions on the streets.
(Reuters, 1/16/14)
2014 Jan 17, Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych signed legislation curbing anti-government protests, civic activism and free speech.
(AFP, 1/17/14)(SFC, 1/20/14, p.A3)
2014 Jan 19, Ukraine protesters attacked riot police with sticks in Kiev and tried to overturn a bus blocking their path to parliament, as up to 100,000 massed in defiance of sweeping new laws aimed at stamping out anti-government demonstrations.
(Reuters, 1/19/14)
2014 Jan 21, In Ukraine top opposition leader Vitali Klitschko headed for talks with the Pres. Yanukovych after yet another night of violent street clashes between anti-government protesters and police.
(AP, 1/21/14)
2014 Jan 22, In Ukraine Unity Day protests left 5 people dead. The bodies of 2 protesters were found near the site of clashes with police in Kiev. Prosecutors said they were shot with live ammunition, the first deaths after two months of largely peaceful protest. Some 25 people went missing. Yanukovich met opposition leaders in an attempt to defuse street violence in which 3 people were killed overnight.
(AP, 1/22/14)(Reuters, 1/22/14)(Econ, 1/25/14, p.41)(Econ, 2/15/14, p.20)
2014 Jan 23, Tensions in Ukraine spread far from Kiev as hundreds of people in the city of Lviv stormed into the regional governor's office and forced him to write a letter of resignation. President Yanukovich called for an emergency session of parliament to end the crisis which has brought thousands of anti-government protesters on to the streets and caused violent clashes with police. PM Mykola Azarov accused opposition protesters of trying to stage a coup d'etat.
(AP, 1/23/14)(Reuters, 1/23/14)
2014 Jan 25, Ukraine anti-government protesters seized a regional administration building. Officials warned that police could storm the Kiev city hall to free two policemen allegedly captured by demonstrators.
(AP, 1/25/14)
2014 Jan 25, Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych offered the prime minister's post to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, one of the opposition's most prominent leaders. Police clashed with protesters who blockaded a building in central Kiev and the fate of the government was uncertain after embattled Pres. Viktor Yanukovich offered opposition leaders key posts.
(Reuters, 1/26/14)(AP, 1/27/14)
2014 Jan 27, The Ukrainian government said in a statement it was issuing $2 billion in Eurobonds to Russia on the same terms as in December, bringing the total amount borrowed - over two years at an interest rate of 5 percent - to $5 billion.
(Reuters, 1/27/14)
2014 Jan 27, Ukraine's justice minister threatened to call for a state of emergency unless protesters leave her ministry building, which they occupied during the night. The body of a man (55) was found dead hanging from the framework of a huge artificial 'New Year tree' in central Kiev.
(AP, 1/27/14)(Reuters, 1/27/14)
2014 Jan 28, Ukraine PM Mykola Azarov resigned. Pres. Yanukovych accepted Azarov’s resignation but asked him to stay on in an acting role until a new government is formed. Parliament repealed anti-protest laws that had set off violent clashes between protesters and police.
(AP, 1/28/14)
2014 Jan 29, Ukraine’s parliament passed a measure offering amnesty to those arrested in two months of protests, but only if demonstrators vacate most of the buildings they occupied. The opposition greeted the move with contempt.
(SFC, 1/30/14, p.A2)
2014 Jan 30, Ukraine's embattled President Viktor Yanukovych took sick leave, leaving it unclear how involved he may be in efforts to resolve the country's political crisis in which protesters are calling for his resignation.
(AP, 1/30/14)
2014 Jan 30, In Ukraine Dmytro Bulatov (35) a member of Automaidan, a group of car owners that has taken part in the protests against President Viktor Yanukovych, was discovered outside Kiev. His face and clothes were covered in clotted blood, his hands were swollen and bore the marks of nails. He had gone missing on Jan 22.
(AP, 1/31/14)
2014 Jan 31, Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych signed a measure offering amnesty to those arrested in two months of protests, but only if demonstrators vacate most of the buildings they occupied, and repealed anti-protest legislation.
(AP, 1/31/14)(Reuters, 2/1/14)
2014 Feb 3, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich returned to his desk after four days of sick leave, while the political opposition pressed for further concessions to end more than two months of street protests.
(Reuters, 2/3/14)
2014 Feb 4, In Ukraine 12 people were killed and five others injured when a train and minibus collided at a railway crossing point in the north-eastern Sumy region.
(Reuters, 2/4/14)
2014 Feb 8, In Ukraine Thousands of people angered by months of anti-government protests in Kiev converged on one of the protesters' barricades, but retreated after meeting sizeable resistance.
(AP, 2/8/14)
2014 Feb 9, Ukraine's security agency warned of a heightened risk of terrorism, including from nearly three months of anti-government protests. An estimated 70,000 pro-Western Ukrainians thronged the heart of Kiev vowing never to give up their drive to oust President Viktor Yanukovych for his alliance with old master Russia.
(AP, 2/9/14)(AFP, 2/9/14)
2014 Feb 11, In central Ukraine Oleksandr Lobodenko (34), a judge who placed several anti-government protesters under house arrest, was murdered overnight in Kremenchuk.
(AFP, 2/12/14)
2014 Feb 14, Ukraine authorities provisionally freed the last of 234 detained protesters under an amnesty offer aimed a diffusing protracted street protests.
(SFC, 2/15/14, p.A2)
2014 Feb 16, In Ukraine anti-government demonstrators in Kiev ended their nearly three-month occupation of City Hall as promised in exchange for the release of all jailed protesters.
(AP, 2/16/14)
2014 Feb 18, In Ukraine riot police stormed Independence Square (Maidan) in Kiev. The deadly clashes between police and anti-government protesters left at least 25 people dead and hundreds injured, raising fears of a civil war.
(AP, 2/18/14)(AFP, 2/18/14)(AP, 2/19/14)(Econ, 2/22/14, p.19)
2014 Feb 19, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich accused pro-European opposition leaders of trying to seize power by force after at least 26 people died in the worst violence since the former Soviet republic gained independence. Defiant protesters seized control of Kiev’s central post office, hurling fire bombs and rocks and standing their ground against officers in riot gear. Opponents of the president declared political autonomy in the major western city of Lviv. Protest leaders and Pres. Yanukovych called for a truce.
(Reuters, 2/19/14)(AP, 2/19/14)(SFC, 2/20/14, p.A2)
2014 Feb 19, Poland's deputy foreign minister said consensus has been reached among EU states about imposing sanctions on Ukrainian officials over the violence in Kiev that has killed dozens of people.
(Reuters, 2/19/14)
2014 Feb 20, In Ukraine protesters, fearing that a call for a truce was a ruse, tossed firebombs and advanced upon police lines in Kiev. Government snipers shot back and the almost-medieval melee that ensued left at least 70 people dead. Ukraine's Interior ministry says 67 police were captured by protesters. The head of Kiev's city administration quit the party of President Viktor Yanukovich in protest at the bloodshed on the streets.
(AP, 2/20/14)(Reuters, 2/20/14)
2014 Feb 21, Ukraine's opposition leaders signed a deal with the president and European and Russian mediators for early elections and a new government in hopes of ending a deadly political crisis. Ukraine's parliament voted to return the ex-Soviet country to its 2004 constitution, which limits the president's powers and gives lawmakers the right to appoint key ministers.
(AP, 2/21/14)(AFP, 2/21/14)
2014 Jan 22, In Ukraine Unity Day protests left 5 people dead. The bodies of 2 protesters were found near the site of clashes with police in Kiev. Prosecutors said they were shot with live ammunition, the first deaths after two months of largely peaceful protest. Some 25 people went missing. Yanukovich met opposition leaders in an attempt to defuse street violence in which 3 people were killed overnight.
(AP, 1/22/14)(Reuters, 1/22/14)(Econ, 1/25/14, p.41)(Econ, 2/22/14, p.20)
2014 Feb 22, The heads of four Ukrainian security bodies, including the police's Berkut anti-riot units, appeared in parliament and declared they would not take part in any conflict with the people. Yulia Tymoshenko left imprisonment and spoke to a massive, adoring crowd, while President Viktor Yanukovych decamped to eastern Ukraine and vowed he would remain in power.
(Reuters, 2/22/14)(AP, 2/23/14)
2014 Feb 23, Ukraine’s Parliament voted to hand the president’s power to speaker Oleksandr Turchinov, a top opposition figure, plunging Ukraine into new uncertainty after a deadly political standoff.
(AP, 2/23/14)
2014 Feb 23, Vladimir Putin ordered officials to start work on taking control of Crimea. This was weeks before a referendum which, the Kremlin later asserted, prompted the region's annexation from Ukraine. This information was not made public until March 8. , 2015.
(Reuters, 3/9/15)
2014 Feb 24, Ukraine's acting government issued an arrest warrant for President Viktor Yanukovych, accusing him of mass crimes against the protesters who stood up for months against his rule. The head of the city administration in Sevastopol quit amid the turmoil, and protesters replaced a Ukrainian flag near the city hall building with a Russian flag. Andriy Klyuyev, President Viktor Yanukovych's chief of staff until Sunday, was wounded by gunfire and hospitalized.
(AP, 2/24/14)(AP, 2/25/14)
2014 Feb 26, In Ukraine fistfights broke out between pro- and anti-Russian demonstrators in the strategic Crimea region as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered massive military exercises just across the border.
(AP, 2/26/14)
2014 Feb 26, Moscow granted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych protection "on the territory of Russia," shortly after the fugitive leader sought help from the Kremlin.
(AP, 2/27/14)
2014 Feb 26, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet told EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a phone call that the Ukrainian opposition to president Viktor Yanukovych may have been involved in sniper attacks (Feb 18-20). News of the call was leaked in early March and prompted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to call for an OSCE investigation.
(AFP, 3/8/14)(SFC, 3/8/14, p.A4)
2014 Feb 27, Ukraine's new PM Arseny Yatseniuk accused the government of ousted President Viktor Yanukovich of stripping state coffers bare and said 37 billion dollars of credit it had received had disappeared. Russian soldiers without insignias, later known as “little green men," seized the parliament in the Crimea region and raised the Russian flag, alarming Kiev's new rulers, who urged Moscow not to abuse its navy base rights on the peninsula by moving troops around.
(Reuters, 2/27/14)(Econ., 3/7/15, p.51)
2014 Feb 28, Ukraine accused Russia of a "military invasion and occupation," saying Russian troops have taken up positions around a coast guard base and two airports on its strategic Crimea peninsula. Russia kept silent on the accusations, as the crisis deepened between two of Europe's largest countries.
(AP, 2/28/14)
2014 Feb 28, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein moved to freeze assets and bank accounts of up to 20 Ukrainians including ousted president Viktor Yanukovich and his son, after Ukraine's new rulers said billions had gone missing.
(Reuters, 2/28/14)
2014 Feb, In the Netherlands the Allard Pierson museum opened the "Crimea — Gold and secrets of the Black Sea" exhibition. In April curators said they are not sure where to return the objects on display when it ends in August due to Russia’s takeover of Crimea.
(AP, 4/4/14)
2014 Mar 1, Ukraine's Pres. Viktor Yanukovich sent a letter to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, asking him to use Russian army and police forces to restore order in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/24/19)
2014 Mar 1, Russia's parliament granted Pres. Vladimir Putin permission to use the country's military in Ukraine and also recommended that Moscow's ambassador be recalled from Washington over comments made by Pres. Obama. Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatsenyuk opened a Cabinet meeting in Kiev by calling on Russia not to provoke discord in Crimea.
(AP, 3/1/14)
2014 Mar 1, Sergei Aksyonov, the pro-Russian prime minister of Ukraine's Crimea region, claimed control of the military and police there and appealed to Russia's President Vladimir Putin for help in keeping peace.
(AP, 3/1/14)
2014 Mar 2, Ukraine mobilized for war and Washington threatened to isolate Russia economically, after President Vladimir Putin declared he had the right to invade his neighbor.
(Reuters, 3/2/14)
2014 Mar 2, Ukraine's new PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk and world leaders urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to pull back his military as hundreds of armed men surrounded a Ukrainian military base in Crimea. Ukraine's navy chief announced he had switched allegiance to the pro-Russian authorities of the flashpoint peninsula of Crimea, a day after he was appointed to the post by interim leader Oleksandr Turchynov.
(AP, 3/2/14)(AFP, 3/2/14)
2014 Mar 3, In Ukraine pro-Russian demonstrators occupied the first floor of the regional government building in Donetsk, the latest in days of rallies that Kiev says are organized by Moscow as a pretext to invade. Interfax news agency quoted a source in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry as saying Russia's Black Sea Fleet has told Ukrainian forces in Crimea to surrender by 5 a.m. on March 4 or face a military assault. The OSCE said it will start deploying in Ukraine late today, but Russian objections mean the body has yet to agree on a full-scale mission. The UN said 16,000 Russians have been deployed in Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/3/14)(AFP, 3/3/14)(SFC, 3/4/14, p.A2)
2014 Mar 3, In Ukraine Reshat Ametov, a Tatar construction worker and father of three, was seized by unidentified men after taking part in a pro-Ukraine rally in Crimea. His body, bearing signs of torture was found on March 16.
(Econ, 3/22/14, p.23)
2014 Mar 4, Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Kiev to show US support for the fledgling Ukraine government, and the Obama administration announced with his arrival a $1 billion energy subsidy package.
(AP, 3/4/14)
2014 Mar 4, Vladimir Putin said that Moscow reserves the right to use its military to protect Russians in Ukraine but voiced hope it won't need to do so as he accusing the West of encouraging an "unconstitutional coup." Russia's state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom said it will cancel a price discount for natural gas supplies to Ukraine as of April 1.
(AP, 3/4/14)
2014 Mar 5, Ukraine's new PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that embattled Crimea must remain part of Ukraine, but may be granted more local powers.
(AP, 3/5/14)
2014 Mar 5, The EU prepared a $15 billion aid package to Ukraine and froze the assets of 18 people blamed for looting the treasury of the nearly bankrupt country.
(AP, 3/5/14)
2014 Mar 5, Germany’s Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that Germany is ready to help Ukraine in its difficult phase and added that this would include financial assistance.
(Reuters, 3/5/14)
2014 Mar 6, Ukraine's new leadership was reported to have reached out to oligarchs for help, appointing them as governors in eastern regions where loyalties to Moscow are strong.
(AP, 3/7/14)
2014 Mar 6, In Ukraine two Femen protesters were arrested in Crimea's capital Simferopol after staging a topless demonstration against Russia's intervention in Ukraine in front of the regional parliament. Pavel Gubarev, the leader of the most persistent pro-Moscow protest movement in eastern Ukraine, was arrested at his home in the city of Donetsk
(AFP, 3/6/14)(Reuters, 3/6/14)
2014 Mar 6, The Obama administration slapped new visa restrictions against pro-Russian opponents to the new Ukraine government in Kiev as lawmakers in Crimea declared their intention to split from Ukraine and join Russia instead. They scheduled a referendum in 10 days for voters to decide the fate of the disputed peninsula. Russia's parliament, clearly savoring the action, introduced a bill intended to make this happen.
(AP, 3/6/14)
2014 Mar 6, European leaders said Russia will face sanctions over its military incursion in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula unless it withdraws its troops or engages in credible talks to defuse the situation. The EU froze the assets of ousted Ukraine leader Viktor Yanukovych, ex-premier Mykola Azarov and 16 former ministers, businessmen and security chiefs, all on grounds of fraud.
(AP, 3/6/14)(AFP, 3/6/14)
2014 Mar 6, Poland's defense minister said a mission of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been stopped from entering Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula by unidentified men in military fatigues.
(Reuters, 3/6/14)
2014 Mar 7, Russia rallied support for a Crimean bid to secede from Ukraine, with Russia's top lawmaker assuring her Crimean counterpart that the region would be welcomed as "an absolutely equal subject of the Russian Federation." Russia said that Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) observers, who were barred from Crimea, had failed to obtain "official invitations" from the Crimean authorities.
(AP, 3/7/14)(AFP, 3/7/14)
2014 Mar 8, Ukraine's top security body said that it and the national news agency has been hit by cyber attacks, the latest suffered by state organizations since the start of the crisis over Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/8/14)
2014 Mar 8, Russia was reported to be reinforcing its military presence in Crimea as Moscow's foreign minister ruled out any dialogue with Ukraine's new authorities, whom he dismissed as puppets. Warning shots were fired when an unarmed OSCE military observer mission was turned back while trying to cross into Ukraine's Crimea region.
(AP, 3/8/14)(Reuters, 3/8/14)
2014 Mar 9, Russians took over a Ukrainian border post on the western edge of Crimea, trapping about 15 personnel inside. Germany's Angela Merkel delivered a rebuke to President Vladimir Putin, telling him that a planned Moscow-backed referendum on whether Crimea should join Russia was illegal and violated Ukraine's constitution.
(Reuters, 3/9/14)
2014 Mar 10, Russian troops opened fire with automatic rifles during a takeover of a Ukrainian naval post in Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/10/14)
2014 Mar 10, Switzerland froze the assets and bank accounts of nine more Ukrainians, including another son of ousted president Viktor Yanukovich and the son of a former prime minister, all of whom are suspected of human rights abuses and misuse of state funds.
(Reuters, 3/10/14)
2014 Mar 11, Ukraine's interim leaders established a new National Guard and appealed to the United States and Britain for assistance against what they called Russian aggression in Crimea under a post-Cold War treaty.
(Reuters, 3/11/14)
2014 Mar 11, The parliament of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula voted for full independence from Ukraine in preparation for a referendum to join Russia. France threatened sanctions against Moscow as early as this week. Gunmen took over air traffic control of the airport in the regional capital Simferopol and refused landing rights to a flight from the Ukrainian capital.
(AFP, 3/11/14)
2014 Mar 11, The European Commission agreed to extend nearly 500 million euros worth of trade benefits to Ukraine, removing duties on a wide range of agricultural goods, textiles and other imports in an effort to support the Ukrainian economy. G7 leaders called on Russia to stop all efforts to "annex" Ukraine's Crimea region.
(Reuters, 3/11/14)(Reuters, 3/12/14)
2014 Mar 11, The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said it is sending a new team to observe military developments in tense regions of Ukraine and that the new team's mandate has been extended beyond Crimea to eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian forces rebuffed previous attempts to monitor Crimea.
(AP, 3/11/14)
2014 Mar 12, Ukraine's acting president said the country would not use its army to stop Crimea from seceding, the latest sign that a Russian annexation of the strategic peninsula may be imminent.
(AFP, 3/12/14)
2014 Mar 12, Austria arrested Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash at the request of the USA which has been investigating him since 2006. He was suspected of violating laws on bribery and forming a criminal organization in the course of foreign business deals. On March 21 Firtash was released on 125 million-euro ($172.5 million) bail.
(Reuters, 3/13/14)(AP, 3/21/14)
2014 Mar 12, European Union member states agreed on the wording of sanctions on Russia, including travel restrictions and asset freezes against those responsible for violating the sovereignty of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/12/14)
2014 Mar 13, Ukraine's parliament appealed to the UN to discuss the occupation by Russian forces of its Crimea peninsula and said it reserved the right to ask individual countries for help in resolving the issue. A man (22) was stabbed to death in Donetsk in clashes between pro-Russian protesters and a crowd favoring European integration and denouncing Russian forces' seizure of Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/13/14)(Reuters, 3/14/14)
2014 Mar 13, Germany's Angela Merkel warned Moscow that it risked "massive" political and economic damage if it refused to change course on Ukraine.
(AP, 3/13/14)
2014 Mar 14, In Ukraine two people were killed and several wounded in a shootout that erupted after a clash in the city of Kharkiv between pro-Russian demonstrators and their opponents.
(AP, 3/15/14)
2014 Mar 14, EU officials said they have drawn up a list of 120-130 names of Russians who could be hit with travel bans and asset freezes to punish Russia for its seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region.
(Reuters, 3/14/14)
2014 Mar 14, Russia called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to send its observers to monitor Crimea's controversial referendum on independence from Ukraine.
(AFP, 3/14/14)
2014 Mar 15, Ukraine's military scrambled aircraft and paratroops to repel an attempt by Russian forces to enter a long spit of land belonging to a region adjacent to Crimea. Russian forces seized a natural gas distribution station in Strelkova, about 10 km outside Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/15/14)(AP, 3/15/14)
2014 Mar 15, Russia vetoed a UN resolution declaring the March 15 referendum on the future of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula illegal, but close ally China abstained in a show of Moscow's isolation.
(AP, 3/15/14)
2014 Mar 16, Residents in Ukraine's strategic Crimean Peninsula voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia, overwhelmingly approving a referendum that sought to unite the Black Sea region with the country it was part of for some 250 years. In eastern Ukraine thousands of pro-Russian protesters in the city of Donetsk rallied in support of Crimea's right to join Russia and to press for their own referendum. Ukraine's defense minister said his forces in Crimea have reached a temporary truce with Russia aimed at easing tensions surrounding the Black Sea peninsula's high-stakes secession referendum.
(AP, 3/16/14)(AFP, 3/16/14)
2014 Mar 16, NATO said hackers have brought down several public NATO websites, in what appeared to be the latest escalation in cyberspace over growing tensions over Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/16/14)
2014 Mar 17, Ukraine's Crimean peninsula declared itself independent after its residents voted overwhelmingly to secede and join Russia, while the United States and the European Union slapped sanctions against some of those who promoted the divisive referendum. Ukraine recalled its ambassador to Russia for consultations on the international ramifications of the situation in its Crimea region. Armed men came to the Ukrainian Belbek military airfield in the Crimean peninsula, fired shots in the air and took away the base’s commanding officer.
(AP, 3/17/14)(Reuters, 3/17/14)(Reuters, 3/18/14)
2014 Mar 18, In Crimea a confrontation between Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian militia left two dead, a Ukrainian serviceman and a member of a militia.
(AP, 3/19/14)
2014 Mar 18, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to annex Crimea, describing the move as correcting past injustice and a necessary response to what he called Western encroachment upon Russia's vital interests.
(AP, 3/18/14)
2014 Mar 18, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said that leaders of the Group of Eight world powers have suspended Russia's participation in the club amid tensions over Ukraine and Russia's incursion into Crimea.
(AP, 3/18/14)
2014 Mar 18, US Vice President Joe Biden warned Russia that the US and Europe will impose further sanctions as Moscow seeks to annex the Ukrainian territory.
(AP, 3/18/14)
2014 Mar 20, Pro-Russian crowds seized two Ukrainian warships and Ukraine said its troops were being threatened in Crimea as the European Union considered new sanctions against Russia for its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula.
(AP, 3/20/14)
2014 Mar 20, President Barack Obama said the United States is levying a new round of economic sanctions on individuals in Russia, both inside and outside the government, in retaliation for the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine. Obama says he has also signed a new executive order that would allow the US to sanction key sectors of the Russian economy.
(AP, 3/20/14)
2014 Mar 21, Ukrainian police detained energy official Yevhen Bakulin, the chief executive of state energy company Naftogaz, as part of an investigation into corruption that it says may have cost the Ukrainian state about $4 billion.
(AP, 3/22/14)
2014 Mar 21, The European Union and Ukraine signed a landmark political cooperation accord, committing to the same deal former president Viktor Yanukovich rejected last November, a decision that led to his overthrow.
(Reuters, 3/21/14)
2014 Mar 21, Russia’s Pres. Vladimir Putin completed his annexation of Crimea, signing a law making the Black Sea peninsula part of Russia just as Ukraine itself sealed a deal pulling it closer into Europe's orbit.
(AP, 3/21/14)
2014 Mar 22, Ukraine’s interior minister said police have seized 42 kg of gold and $4.8 million in cash during a search of the apartments of former Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky. His career had blossomed under the presidency of ousted Viktor Yanukovich and was appointed energy minister in December 2012.
(Reuters, 3/22/14)
2014 Mar 22, Ukraine Col. Yully Mamchur, the commander of Belbek Air Force base in Crimea, was seized by pro-Russian forces as they stormed the base near Sevastopol.
(SFC, 3/24/14, p.A4)
2014 Mar 22, In eastern Ukraine more than 5,000 pro-Russia residents of Donetsk demonstrated in favor of holding a referendum on whether to seek to split off and become part of Russia.
(AP, 3/22/14)
2014 Mar 24, Ukraine announced the evacuation of its troops and their families from Crimea, effectively acknowledging defeat in the face of Russian forces, who stormed one of the last remaining Ukrainian bases on the peninsula.
(Reuters, 3/24/14)
2014 Mar 25, Ukraine lawmakers accepted the resignation of the defense minister Igor Tenyukh as thousands of troops began withdrawing from the Crimean Peninsula, now controlled by Russia. Col. Gen. Mikhail Kovalyov was voted in as his replacement.
(AP, 3/25/14)
2014 Mar 25, Oleksander Muzychko, a prominent Ukrainian far-right activist, was shot dead by police overnight as he tried to escape from a cafe in the western region of Rivne. Police said he was wanted for "hooliganism" and an attack on a local prosecutor.
(Reuters, 3/25/14)
2014 Mar 26, Ukraine’s Naftogaz officials said the price of gas will rise for domestic consumers by more than 50 per cent from May 1. Further rises will be implemented under a fixed timetable until 2018. The step were in response to demands by the International Monetary Fund.
(AP, 3/26/14)
2014 Mar 26, Russian forces took over the Ukrainian minesweeper Cherkasy, the last military ship controlled by Ukraine in Crimea.
(Reuters, 3/26/14)
2014 Mar 27, Ukraine PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned that everyone is going to feel some pain from necessary financial reforms ahead as the International Monetary Fund pledged up to $18 billion in loans to prop up the teetering economy. Former PM Yulia Tymoshenko announced that she will run for president in the vote set for May 25.
(AP, 3/27/14)
2014 Mar 27, The UN passed a non-binding resolution declaring invalid Crimea's Moscow-backed referendum on seceding from Ukraine with 100 votes in favor, 11 against and 58 abstentions in the 193-nation General Assembly. Russia threatened several Eastern European and Central Asian states with retaliation if they voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution.
(Reuters, 3/28/14)(Reuters, 3/29/14)
2014 Mar 28, Russia's Pres. Vladimir Putin said Ukraine could regain some arms and equipment of military units in Crimea that did not switch their loyalty to Russia.
(AP, 3/28/14)
2014 Mar 29, Russia said it had "no intention" of invading eastern Ukraine, responding to Western warnings over a military buildup on the border following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
(Reuters, 3/29/14)
2014 Mar 29, Ukraine boxer turned opposition leader Vitali Klitschko dropped out of the May 25 snap presidential polls to help the candidacy of Petro Poroshenko, a charismatic tycoon who made a fortune selling chocolates and backs closer Western ties.
(AFP, 3/29/14)
2014 Mar 29, Crimea's Tatars held a vote on whether to push for self-rule in their historic homeland following its annexation by Russia. The Crimean Tatars, who make up about 12 percent of Crimea's population, strongly opposed and largely boycotted the hastily-organized March 16 referendum.
(AFP, 3/29/14)
2014 Mar 31, Ukraine reported a gradual withdrawal of Russian troops from its border that may be linked to Washington's latest push for a diplomatic solution to the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.
(AFP, 3/31/14)
2014 Mar 31, In Ukraine a Right Sector member shot and wounded three people outside a restaurant adjacent to Kiev's main Independence Square, including a deputy city mayor, triggering a standoff that lasted overnight.
(AP, 4/1/14)
2014 Mar 31, Russia’s PM Medvedev said Crimea will be made a special economic zone offering tax breaks and reduced bureaucracy to attract investors.
(Reuters, 3/31/14)
2014 Apr 1, The EU’s economy chief Olli Rehn's said the EU will make a swift payment of financial aid to Ukraine and dismissed the possibility of economic sanctions against Russia unless it takes more action.
(Reuters, 4/1/14)
2014 Apr 1, Russia warned Ukraine against integration with NATO, saying Kiev's previous attempts to move closer to the bloc had strained ties with Russia and caused problems between Moscow and the defense alliance. Russia sharply hiked the price for natural gas to Ukraine and threatened to reclaim billions previous discounts. Ukrainian police moved to disarm members of a radical nationalist group after a shooting spree in the capital.
(Reuters, 4/1/14)(AP, 4/1/14)
2014 Apr 2, Ukraine took the first step toward granting more powers to the regions in line with Western wishes but stopped well short of creating the federation sought by Russia.
(AFP, 4/2/14)
2014 Apr 2, A Russian soldier shot dead Ukrainian naval officer Stanislav Karachevsky in eastern Crimea, the second Ukrainian death reported since Russia took control of the Black Sea peninsula.
(Reuters, 4/7/14)
2014 Apr 2, Ukraine's ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, said that he was "wrong" to invite Russian troops into Crimea, and vowed to try to persuade Russia to return the Black Sea peninsula.
(AP, 4/2/14)
2014 Apr 2, The EU and the US sought ways to reduce the political clout Russia gets from its vast energy reserves by promising to wean Ukraine and the rest of the continent off those supplies.
(AP, 4/2/14)
2014 Apr 3, Ukraine authorities said that they have detained several members of an elite riot police unit on suspicion of shooting protesters during bloody anti-government clashes in February that left more than 100 dead. The interim government has said former Pres. Yanukovych ordered snipers to be deployed, a charge Yanukovych has denied.
(AP, 4/3/14)
2014 Apr 3, Germany’s Deutsche Post said it is no longer accepting letters bound for Crimea after its Ukrainian counterpart told the Geneva-based Universal Postal Union (UPU) that delivery to the region was no longer guaranteed.
(Reuters, 4/3/14)
2014 Apr 3, Russia’s gas giant Gazprom urged Ukraine to pay its debt, and announced a 70 percent rise in the charge for future supplies.
(AP, 4/3/14)
2014 Apr 4, Ukraine's Western-backed leaders scrambled to find new sources of energy after Russia hiked its gas price by 81 percent in response to the overthrow of Kiev's pro-Kremlin regime.
(AFP, 4/4/14)(AFP, 4/5/14)
2014 Apr 4, In Ukraine journalist Vasily Sergiyenko, a member of nationalist Svoboda party, was abducted in his home city of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi. The body of the reporter was later found in a forest with stab wounds and signs of beatings to his head and knees.
(AP, 4/6/14)
2014 Apr 5, Ukraine rejected Russia's latest gas price hike and threatened to take its energy-rich neighbor to arbitration court over a dispute that could imperil deliveries to western Europe.
(AFP, 4/5/14)
2014 Apr 5, Ukraine’s security service said it has detained a 15-strong armed gang planning to seize power in Luhansk province. Weapons seized included 300 machine guns, an anti-tank grenade launcher and a large number of grenades.
(SSFC, 4/6/14, p.A5)
2014 Apr 6, In Ukraine about 50 pro-Russian protesters broke through police lines and stormed inside the main administration building in the eastern city of Donetsk. Pro-Russian activists seized government buildings in at least three cities.
(AFP, 4/6/14)(AP, 4/7/14)
2014 Apr 7, In Ukraine pro-Russian separatists who seized a provincial administration building in the eastern city of Donetsk proclaimed the region independent.
(AP, 4/7/14)
2014 Apr 7, Ukraine's ecology and natural resources minister estimated on that Kiev had lost natural resources and related assets worth 127 billion hryvnias ($10.8 bln) when Russia annexed the Crimea region.
(Reuters, 4/7/14)
2014 Apr 8, Ukrainian authorities reasserted control over an administration building in Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, evicting pro-Russian protesters and detaining dozens. In Donetsk the makings of an improvised self-appointed government began taking shape as demonstrators dug in for their third day at the 11-story regional administration headquarters. In Luhansk pro-Russia groups remained in control of the local branch of the security services, which they seized over the weekend.
(AP, 4/8/14)
2014 Apr 9, Ukrainian authorities warned that they are prepared to use force to clear several government buildings seized by pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. 56 hostages were allowed to leave the Luhansk security services building overnight.
(AP, 4/9/14)
2014 Apr 10, In Ukraine protesters inside the Luhansk security building, a former KGB headquarters, said they would only lay down their weapons if Kiev agreed to hold a referendum on the future of the region.
(Reuters, 4/10/14)
2014 Apr 10, President Vladimir Putin warned European leaders Russia would cut natural gas supplies to Ukraine if it did not pay its bills and said this could lead to a reduction of onward deliveries to Europe.
(Reuters, 4/10/14)
2014 Apr 11, Ukraine's PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk told leaders in the country's restive east that he is committed to allowing regions to have more powers, but left it unclear how his ideas differ from the demands of protesters now occupying government buildings or Russia's advocacy of federalization.
(AP, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 11, Nuclear technology firm Westinghouse said it has reached a deal with Ukraine to deliver fuel for its 15 reactors through 2020, a move that helps the country reduce its reliance on Russia for energy supplies as it squabbles with Moscow over unpaid gas bills.
(AP, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 11, Crimean lawmakers adopted a new constitution, taking another step to cement the region's absorption into Russia despite strong objections from the Muslim Tatar minority.
(Reuters, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 11, The United States imposed sanctions on a Crimea-based gas company, Chernomorneftegaz, effectively putting it off limits to Russia's state-controlled Gazprom. The move, along with penalties on six Crimean separatists and a former Ukrainian official, is the third round of US sanctions since the Ukraine crisis erupted.
(Reuters, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 12, In Ukraine armed pro-Russian militants raised the Russian flag in the eastern city of Slaviansk, deepening a stand-off with Moscow which, Kiev warned, was dragging Europe closer to a "gas war" that could disrupt supplies across the continent. Igor Girkin, a former Russian military officer, sneaked across the border into the Donbas region and with a few dozen men seized the small town of Sloviansk. His army never exceeded 600 men.
(Reuters, 4/12/14)(Econ 5/27/17, p.45)
2014 Apr 13, Ukrainian special forces exchanged gunfire with a pro-Russia militia in the eastern city of Slovyansk, with at least one security officer killed and five others wounded. Separatist protesters seized control of the mayor's office in the town of Mariupol.
(AP, 4/13/14)(Reuters, 4/13/14)
2014 Apr 14, Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said the Kiev leadership was "not against" a referendum being held on the type of state Ukraine should be and added he was sure it would confirm the wish of the majority for a united, independent country.
(Reuters, 4/14/14)
2014 Apr 14, Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov called for the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops in the east of the country, where pro-Russian insurgents have occupied buildings in nearly 10 cities. During the storming of a police station in Horlivka earlier today, one man identified himself as a lieutenant colonel of the Russian army. About 100 pro-Russian protesters armed with bats and rocks stormed a police station in the eastern town of Gorlivka, smashing its windows and grabbing metal shields from police. Pro-Russian militants seized two of Ukrainian soldiers "hostage" in the separatist eastern region of Lugansk.
(AP, 4/14/14)(AFP, 4/14/14)(AFP, 4/16/14)
2014 Apr 14, The EU threatened Russia with more sanctions over its actions in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 4/14/14)
2014 Apr 15, Ukraine government forces repelled an attack by some 30 gunmen at the Kramatorsk airport south of Slovyansk.
(SFC, 4/16/14, p.A2)
2014 Apr 15, German utility company RWE said it has started sending natural gas to Ukraine, a move that could support the country if Russia acts on its threat to cut off supplies because of a massive debt for past deliveries.
(AP, 4/15/14)
2014 Apr 16, In Ukraine a column of 6 armored vehicles flying Russian flags drove into Slovyansk, a city controlled by pro-Russian insurgents. Ukraine's defense ministry said pro-Russia separatists had seized the six armored personnel carriers from Ukrainian armed forces with the help of Russian agents. Ukraine's security service said it had intercepted communications showing that Russian commanders in the separatist east had issued pro-Kremlin militants with "shoot-to-kill" orders.
(AP, 4/16/14)(Reuters, 4/16/14)(AP, 4/16/14)
2014 Apr 17, In Ukraine 3 pro-Russian protesters were killed and 13 injured during an attempted raid overnight on a National Guard base in the Black Sea port of Mariupol. High-level talks aimed at calming soaring tensions over the crisis in Ukraine went into overtime with top diplomats from the United States, European Union, Russia and Ukraine attempting to forge a common position on how to de-escalate the situation. Ukrainian town councilor Volodymyr Rybak and a second man disappeared. He was seen being bundled into a car by masked men in camouflage. His body was found on April 29 near Slaviansk.
(AP, 4/17/14)(Reuters, 4/23/14)
2014 Apr 18, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian insurgents who have occupied government buildings in more than 10 cities said they will not leave them until the country's interim government resigns.
(AP, 4/18/14)
2014 Apr 20, Ukraine and Russia traded blame for a shootout at a checkpoint manned by pro-Russia insurgents in Slovyansk that left three people dead in a mysterious shooting.
(AP, 4/20/14)(Econ, 4/26/14, p.50)
2014 Apr 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to rehabilitate Crimea's Tatars and other minorities who suffered under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, courting a group that largely opposed Moscow's annexation of the region from Ukraine.
(Reuters, 4/21/14)
2014 Apr 22, Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatseniuk said that Russian special forces were operating in the east to undermine a presidential election due on May 25 and he called on Moscow to pull them out. Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov ordered the resumption of military operations in the east, where pro-Russia protesters and masked gunmen have seized government buildings and set up checkpoints on the roads.
(Reuters, 4/22/14)(AP, 4/24/14)
2014 Apr 22, In Ukraine US Vice President Joe Biden delivered an aid package and demanded Russia back off. He also warned Kiev it must tackle the "cancer of corruption."
(Reuters, 4/22/14)
2014 Apr 22, In Ukraine Simon Ostrovsky, a US journalist for Vice News, disappeared. He had been covering the crisis in Ukraine for weeks and was reporting about groups of masked gunmen seizing government buildings in one eastern Ukrainian city after another. Pro-Russian gunmen in eastern Ukraine admitted the next day that they are holding Ostrovsky.
(AP, 4/23/14)
2014 Apr 24, Ukrainian government troops moved against pro-Russia forces in the east of the country and killed at least two of them in clashes at checkpoints manned by the insurgents. Russian President Vladimir Putin decried what he described as a "punitive operation."
(AP, 4/24/14)
2014 Apr 25, Ukrainian special forces launched a second phase of their operation in the east of the country by mounting a full blockade of the rebel-held city of Slaviansk A Ukrainian military helicopter exploded at a base near the eastern town of Kramatorsk after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. In Slovyansk pro-Russian activists detained an eight-member team traveling under the auspices of the OSCE, accusing them of being NATO spies.
(Reuters, 4/25/14)(AP, 4/25/14)(SSFC, 4/27/14, p.A9)
2014 Apr 26, Leaders of the G7 major economies agreed to impose more sanctions on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, where armed pro-Moscow separatists have detained a group of international observers they accuse of being NATO spies.
(Reuters, 4/26/14)
2014 Apr 28, In Ukraine Hennady Kernes, the mayor of Kharkiv, was shot in the back and fought to stay alive following an operation. Kernes has insisted he does not support the pro-Russia insurgents and backed a united Ukraine. Pro-Russia insurgents seized more government buildings.
(AP, 4/28/14)
2014 Apr 28, Britain's Serious Fraud Office said it had opened a criminal investigation into possible money laundering associated with corruption in Ukraine and had frozen $23 million of assets in the UK in relation to the case.
(Reuters, 4/29/14)
2014 Apr 28, The European Union added 15 more officials to its Russian sanctions list to protests Moscow's meddling in Ukraine.
(AP, 4/28/14)
2014 Apr 28, The United States levied new sanctions on seven Russian government officials, as well as 17 companies with links to Vladimir Putin's close associates, as the Obama administration seeks to pressure the Russian leader to deescalate the crisis in Ukraine.
(AP, 4/28/14)
2014 Apr 29, In Ukraine demonstrators demanding more power for eastern regions stormed the regional administration building in Luhansk, one of the largest cities in the troubled east.
(AP, 4/29/14)
2014 Apr 29, The EU released the names of 15 new people it is targeting for sanctions because of their roles in the Ukraine crisis.
(AP, 4/29/14)
2014 Apr 29, US Attorney General Eric Holder said the United States is determined to help Ukraine find and recover billions of dollars of assets it says were stolen by its former president and his aides. Holder spoke at the start of a two-day international meeting in London, jointly organized by Britain and the United States and attended by representatives from 35 countries, which is aimed at helping Ukraine's government recover money from President Viktor Yanukovich.
(Reuters, 4/29/14)
2014 Apr 30, In Ukraine insurgents wielding automatic weapons took control and hoisted an insurgent flag on top of the city council building in the city of Horlivka in the Donetsk region. They also took control of a police station in the city. Acting Pres. Turchynov instructed the governors to try to prevent the threat from overtaking more central and southern regions.
(AP, 4/30/14)
2014 May 1, Ukraine ordered the expulsion of Russia's military attaché, saying it had caught him "red-handed" a day earlier receiving classified information on the country's cooperation with NATO. A crowd of some 300 pro-Russian militants attacked the prosecutor's office in the eastern city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 5/1/14)(AFP, 5/1/14)
2014 May 2, In Ukraine pro-Russia forces shot down two government helicopters as the country launched its first major offensive against an insurgency that has seized government buildings in the east. Two crew members were killed in the crashes, and pro-Russia militiaman was reported killed. At least 48 people died in clashes between government supporters and opponents in the Black Sea port of Odessa. Most died when government opponents took refuge in a building that caught fire after protesters threw firebombs inside.
(AP, 5/2/14)(AP, 5/3/14)(Econ, 5/9/15, p.50)
2014 May 3, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russia insurgents released the seven OSCE military observers and five Ukrainian assistants who had been seized on April 25. A team member from Sweden was also seized but was released earlier. 10 people were reported killed in a confrontation with soldiers on the outskirts of Slovyansk. A three-day mourning period was declared in Odessa for those that died a day earlier.
(AP, 5/3/14)
2014 May 5, Ukrainian troops fought pitched gunbattles with a pro-Russia militia occupying Slovyansk. About 800 pro-Russia forces in and around Slovyansk were deploying large-caliber weapons and mortars. A military helicopter was shot down near Slavyansk, but the pilots survived. 30 pro-Russia insurgents and 4 government troops were killed during operations to expunge anti-government forces around Slovyansk. The government sent an elite national guard unit to re-establish control over the southern port city of Odessa.
(AP, 5/514)(Reuters, 5/514)(AP, 5/6/14)
2014 May 7, Poland awarded a prize for championing democracy and human rights to Mustafa Dzhemilev, a leader of the Tatar community in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula who says he was barred from the region after Russia annexed it.
(Reuters, 5/7/14)
2014 May 7, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin urged that a planned May 11 referendum on autonomy in southeast Ukraine be postponed. In a meeting with Swiss president Didier Burkhalter, Putin also called on Ukraine's military to halt all operations against pro-Russia activists who have seized government buildings and police stations across at least a dozen towns in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 5/7/14)
2014 May 8, In eastern Ukraine the pro-Russia insurgency decided to go ahead with a May 11 referendum on autonomy or even independence despite a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone it.
(AP, 5/8/14)
2014 May 9, In Ukraine at least 3 people were killed in a clash between government forces and rebels in the eastern city of Mariupol. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement that 20 "terrorists" and one police officer were killed in fighting that erupted when 60 gunmen tried to capture the Mariupol police station.
(AP, 5/9/14)
2014 May 9, Russia’s President Putin watched as about 11,000 Russian troops proudly marched across Red Square in celebration of Victory Day. He then flew to Crimea and extolled its return to Russia before tens of thousands during his first trip there since its annexation.
(AP, 5/9/14)
2014 May 10, Austrian bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst, the alter ego of 25-year-old Thomas Neuwirth (25), won the Eurovision Song Contest.
(AP, 5/11/14)
2014 May 10, In Ukraine at least 7 people died in clashes in the port city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.
(AP, 5/11/14)
2014 May 11, Residents in eastern Ukraine formed long queues at polling stations to cast their votes in hastily organized independence referendums, defying the central government which called the ballots illegal and funded by neighboring Russia.
(AP, 5/11/14)
2014 May 12, In eastern Ukraine insurgents in Luhansk said they wouldn't hold the scheduled May 25 presidential vote.
(AP, 5/13/14)
2014 May 12, Russia made it clear that Moscow has no intention of immediately annexing two regions in eastern Ukraine after a weekend referendum there showed most voters allegedly backing sovereignty.
(AP, 5/12/14)
2014 May 13, Ukraine's PM Arseny Yatseniuk and EU officials signed a deal for 1 billion euro ($1.37 billion) in EU aid for Kiev's beleaguered government as well as for assistance to help build Ukrainian institutions.
(AP, 5/13/14)
2014 May 13, In Ukraine 7 soldiers were ambushed and killed by rebels armed with grenade launchers outside the town of Kramatorsk. Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatseniuk urged Russia not to use natural gas as a "weapon" against his country, and accused Moscow of seizing tens of billions of dollars' worth of its assets and energy resources in Crimea.
(AP, 5/13/14)(Reuters, 5/13/14)(Econ, 5/17/14, p.50)
2014 May 14, The Ukrainian government reluctantly agreed to launch talks on decentralizing power as part of an OSCE backed peace plan, but did not invite its main foes, the pro-Russia insurgents who have declared independence in the east.
(AP, 5/14/14)
2014 May 15, Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told lawmakers that government forces attacked overnight an insurgent base in the city of Slovyansk and another one in nearby Kramatorsk. Rinat Akhmetov's company, Metinvest, agreed with steel plant directors, police and community leaders to help improve security in Mariupol and get insurgents to vacate the buildings they had seized. A representative of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, which had declared independence, was also a party to the deal.
(AP, 5/15/14)(AP, 5/16/14)
2014 May 15, Russia ratcheted up pressure on Ukraine, with President Vladimir Putin saying in a letter released today that it only will deliver gas to its struggling neighbor next month if it pays in advance.
(AP, 5/15/14)
2014 May 17, In Ukraine a second round of European-brokered talks aimed at resolving the crisis. Lawmakers and officials from eastern Ukraine poured criticism on the fledging central government for ignoring the grievances of the regions, which have been overrun for pro-Russian protesters.
(AP, 5/17/14)
2014 May 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops deployed near Ukraine to return to their home bases and praised the launch of a dialogue between the Ukrainian government and its opponents even as fighting continued in the eastern parts of the country.
(AP, 5/19/14)
2014 May 20, The European Commission paid out a first loan tranche of 100 million euros ($137 million) to Ukraine, launching a 1.6 billion euro macro-financial assistance loan program to prop up the beleaguered economy.
(Reuters, 5/20/14)
2014 May 20, The UN refugee agency said at least 10,000 people have been driven from their homes since the start of the Ukraine crisis, with Crimean Tatars the hardest-hit.
(AFP, 5/20/14)
2014 May 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he ordered troops to pull out from the regions near Ukraine to help create a positive environment ahead of the nation's presidential vote. Putin spoke from Shanghai, China, where he attended a security summit.
(AP, 5/21/14)
2014 May 22, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russia insurgents attacked a military checkpoint just north of Donetsk, killing 11 troops and wounding at least 33 others in the deadliest raid yet in weeks of fighting. One insurgent was reported killed. Separatist rebels seized four eastern coal mines and demanded that its workers supply them with explosives.
(AP, 5/22/14)(AFP, 5/22/14)(Reuters, 5/23/14)(Econ, 5/24/14, p.46)
2014 May 23, In Ukraine armed pro-Russian separatists clashed with Ukrainian self-defense fighters near the eastern city of Donetsk, two days before the presidential election, and at least two people were killed.
(Reuters, 5/23/14)
2014 May 24, In eastern Ukraine Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli (30) and Russian interpreter Andrey Mironov were killed while covering fighting between government forces and pro-Russia insurgents. They were reportedly hit by government mortar fire as they were taking shelter in a roadside ditch.
(AP, 5/25/14)
2014 May 25, Ukraine held presidential elections as separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, with 5.1 million voters, blocked the vote. Billionaire candy-maker Petro Poroshenko led with about 54 percent in the field of 21 candidates. His campaign ran under the slogan “A new way of living."
(AP, 5/25/14)(AP, 5/26/14)(Econ, 5/31/14, p.48)
2014 May 26, Ukraine's new president-elect Petro Poroshenko promised to negotiate an end to a pro-Russia insurgency in the east, saying he was willing to begin talks with Moscow. Government forces used fighter jets to stop pro-Russia separatists from taking over the Donetsk airport. At least 40 people, including 2 civilians, were killed in the fighting.
(AP, 5/26/14)(AP, 5/27/14)
2014 May 27, Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk was in turmoil a day after government forces used fighter jets to stop pro-Russia separatists from taking over the airport. Dozens were reported killed and the mayor went on television to urge residents to stay indoors. Unidentified men stormed Donetsk's main ice hockey arena and set it ablaze.
(AP, 5/27/14)
2014 May 28, In Ukraine pro-Russian militants conceded that militants from Chechnya had joined their rebellion.
(SFC, 5/29/14, p.A2)
2014 May 29, In Ukraine rebels in the east shot down a government military helicopter amid heavy fighting around Slovyansk in the Donetsk region, killing at least 12 soldiers including Gen. Serhiy Kulchytskiy. An insurgent leader confirmed that his fighters were holding four missing observers and their Ukrainian translator from the OSCE and promised they would be released shortly.
(AP, 5/29/14)(AP, 5/30/14)
2014 May 30, Ukraine told Russia a $786 million partial payment on a bill that Russia says could exceed $5 billion by next week was on its way to Moscow. That averted an immediate threat that Russia would stop supplying the former Soviet republic with gas if it fails to make advance payments.
(Reuters, 5/31/14)
2014 Jun 2, In eastern Ukraine hundreds of armed insurgents attacked a border guards' camp in Luhansk. At least 5 rebels were killed in the clash. There was another rebel attack on a government checkpoint in Slovyansk.
(AP, 6/2/14)
2014 Jun 2, Russia granted Ukraine another week before it will start demanding prepayment for gas, without which it has threatened to cut off supplies.
(AP, 6/2/14)
2014 Jun 3, In eastern Ukraine fighting raged for the second straight day as the army rolled out an offensive against pro-Russia separatists holding the city of Slaviansk and claimed to have inflicted losses on the rebels. 2 government soldiers were killed and 42 injured in daylong fighting.
(Reuters, 6/3/14)(AP, 6/4/14)
2014 Jun 4, Ukraine said that 6 militants were killed and 3 Ukrainian servicemen were injured in 10 hours of fighting overnight at the National Guard base in Luhansk. Pro-Russian insurgents took over two government bases in battles around Luhansk, seizing quantities of ammunition and explosives from a border guards post and taking another installation after National Guard forces ran out of ammunition.
(AP, 6/4/14)
2014 Jun 4, US President Barack Obama endorsed Ukraine's president-elect Petro Poroshenko, offering Kiev financial and security help and saying he was the right choice to lead the country through its stand-off with Moscow. Obama spoke in Warsaw ahead of a G7 meeting in Brussels.
(Reuters, 6/4/14)(AP, 6/4/14)
2014 Jun 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's newly elected leader Petro Poroshenko met in France at the sidelines of ceremonies to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landing in Normandy. They spoke of their desire for a quick end to hostilities in southeastern Ukraine.
(AP, 6/6/14)
2014 Jun 7, In Ukraine newly elected Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as president and called for dialogue with the country’s east. He also took a firm line on Russia's annexation of Crimea this spring, insisting that the Black Sea peninsula "was, is and will be Ukrainian."
(AP, 6/7/14)
2014 Jun 10, Ukraine Pres. Petro Poroshenko ordered security officials to create a corridor for safe passage for civilians in eastern regions to escape fighting. In the east pro-Russian separatists attacked military checkpoints and other strategic points overnight but they were beaten off with only minor casualties on the Ukrainian side. 40 mercenaries were reported killed near the airport of Kramatorsk.
(Reuters, 6/10/14)(SFC, 6/11/14, p.A4)
2014 Jun 10, Ukraine Deputy Tax Minister Ihor Bilous, the country's new tax boss, said his predecessor, Oleksandr Klymenko, was in on a massive fraud, helping to organize a wide network of phantom firms in return for a cut of the cash. The criminals, he said, operated with impunity. Klymenko, who has fled the country, denied the charges.
(AP, 6/10/14)
2014 Jun 10, Russia’s PM Dmitry Medvedev gave the government's blessing to Aeroflot’s new low-cost airline serving newly-annexed Crimea, as he inspected a Dobrolyot (Good Flight) Boeing-737 ahead of its maiden flight from Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.
(Reuters, 6/10/14)
2014 Jun 11, Russia offered to restore the discounted prices it granted Ukraine under the ousted pro-Russian president, but Ukraine demanded an even better deal and called for arbitration to settle the dispute.
(AP, 6/11/14)
2014 Jun 12, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko signaled he would be ready to hold talks with opponents in eastern Ukraine if pro-Russian separatists waging an insurgency there agreed to lay down their weapons. Interior Minister Arseny Avakov accused Russia of allowing three tanks and other military vehicles to cross the border into east Ukraine to help pro-Russian separatists there.
(Reuters, 6/12/14)
2014 Jun 13, Ukraine's interior minister said that government troops have reclaimed the southern port of Mariupol, the second-largest city in the Donetsk region, from pro-Russian separatists. Rebel leaders confirmed they have three tanks.
(Reuters, 6/13/14)
2014 Jun 13, Ukraine said it was ready to pay a compromise price for Russian natural gas for 18 months to avert the threat of Moscow cutting off supplies and allow time to reach a long-term pricing agreement.
(Reuters, 6/13/14)
2014 Jun 14, Afghans voted in a presidential runoff between two candidates, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah (53) and ex-World Bank official and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (64). A series of rockets slammed into areas in the eastern Khost province, near the Pakistani border, killing 6 civilians and wounding eight. A mortar shell killed 2 civilians and wounded three in Logar province.
(AP, 6/14/14)
2014 Jun 14, In Bangladesh arson attacks and clashes between local residents and Urdu-speaking stateless people left 10 people dead in Dhaka.
(AP, 6/14/14)
2014 Jun 14, Spanish and Moroccan security forces drove back 1,000 African migrants who tried to scramble over a border fence from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Melilla.
(AFP, 6/14/14)
2014 Jun 14, In Ukraine pro-Russia separatists shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane as it approached the airport at Luhansk, killing all 49 crew and troops aboard in a bloody escalation of the conflict in the country's restive east.
(AP, 6/14/14)
2014 Jun 15, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko declared a day of mourning and vowed to punish those responsible after pro-Russia separatists shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane a day earlier.
(AP, 6/15/14)
2014 Jun 15, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO is preparing measures to help Ukraine defend itself in its stand-off with Russia, and must adapt to the fact that Moscow now views it as an adversary.
(Reuters, 6/15/14)
2014 Jun 16, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko called for a truce in east Ukraine, where his government faces a rebellion by pro-Russian separatists, to provide time to seek agreement on a peace plan.
(Reuters, 6/16/14)
2014 Jun 16, Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine as a payment deadline passed and negotiators failed to reach a deal on gas prices and unpaid bills amid continued fighting in eastern Ukraine. Gazprom announced that it is suing Ukraine's state energy company Naftogaz in an international court for the $4.5 billion. Naftogaz said it has also filed a suit against Gazprom, seeking a "fair and market-based price" for gas, as well as a repayment of $6 billion for what it said were overpayments for gas from 2010.
(AP, 6/16/14)
2014 Jun 17, Ukraine received 500 million euros ($680 million) from the EU to help stabilize the country and shore up its ailing economy.
(AP, 6/17/14)
2014 Jun 17, In Ukraine Russian correspondent Igor Kornelyuk (37) died during surgery in a hospital after being wounded by mortar fire while on assignment in Luhansk. Sound engineer Viktor Denisov was also confirmed dead.
(AP, 6/17/14)(SFC, 6/18/14, p.A2)
2014 Jun 17, In central Ukraine an explosion rocked the main pipeline carrying Russian natural gas to the rest of Europe but a source at Russian gas producer Gazprom said the blast has not disrupted the gas flow.
(Reuters, 6/17/14)
2014 Jun 18, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko set out proposals for a peace plan for eastern Ukraine involving a unilateral ceasefire by government forces. This followed a late-night telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters, 6/18/14)
2014 Jun 19, Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists were locked in fierce fighting in the east after rebels rejected a call to lay down their arms in line with a peace plan proposed by Pres. Petro Poroshenko.
(Reuters, 6/19/14)
2014 Jun 20, In Ukraine 7 government troops were killed in overnight fighting in the Donetsk region, as clashes between government forces and pro-Russia rebels flared ahead of the publication of a presidential peace plan that includes a unilateral cease-fire.
(AP, 6/20/14)
2014 Jun 20, The US issued new sanctions against seven Ukraine separatists accused of stoking violence against their capital in Kiev.
(AP, 6/20/14)
2014 Jun 21, Ukraine reported no large-scale fighting, the first full day of what is to be a six-and-a-half-day stand-down by the Ukrainian military. Separatist leaders have rejected the cease-fire and said they will not disarm. The Ukrainian Border Guard Service reported overnight attacks on two border posts in the Donetsk region, which left three troops injured, hours after the cease-fire was announced.
(AP, 6/21/14)
2014 Jun 22, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko agreed to dialogue with separatists not implicated in "murder and torture" as he laid out a peace plan that Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to back as fighting flared between government and pro-Moscow separatist forces.
(AFP, 6/22/14)(Reuters, 6/22/14)
2014 Jun 24, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said pro-Russian separatists in the east had violated a ceasefire with overnight attacks that killed one government soldier.
(Reuters, 6/24/14)
2014 Jun 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked parliament to cancel a resolution sanctioning the use of military force in Ukraine.
(AP, 6/24/14)
2014 Jun 25, In Ukraine rebels and government forces traded fire in Slavyansk oblivious to the week-long truce ordered by Ukraine's new president and backed by a top leader of the pro-Russian separatists.
(AFP, 6/25/14)
2014 Jun 25, On Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand, the upper house of the Russian parliament canceled a resolution allowing the use of military in Ukraine.
(AP, 6/25/14)
2014 Jun 26, Ukrainian separatist rebels agreed to take part in further peace talks on Jun 27 to end the conflict in the eastern regions.
(Reuters, 6/26/14)
2014 Jun 27, In Ukraine pro-Russian separatist leaders and mediators for the Kiev government met in the city of Donetsk in new consultations on ending the fighting in Ukraine's Russian-speaking east. President Petro Poroshenko told EU leaders he was extending a ceasefire in east Ukraine for three days. Rebels in the southeast released four out of eight OSCE observers, captured over a month ago.
(Reuters, 6/27/14)
2014 Jun 27, European Union leaders signed broad trade and economic deals with non-member countries Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
(AP, 6/27/14)
2014 Jun 27, EU leaders set June 30 as the deadline for the release of prisoners in east Ukraine and for the terms of a lasting ceasefire, warning Moscow they were ready to impose further sanctions.
(Reuters, 6/27/14)
2014 Jun 28, In Ukraine pro-Russian insurgents released the last four OSCE observers held since their seizure in late May in Luhansk.
(SSFC, 6/29/14, p.A8)
2014 Jun 29, In eastern Ukraine veteran cameraman Anatoly Klyan (68), who worked for Russia's Channel One, was killed when a bus carrying journalists and soldiers' mothers was hit by gunfire near Avdiivka, just north of Donetsk.
(AP, 6/30/14)
2014 Jun 30, France said the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to work on the adoption of a ceasefire in Ukraine as well as the establishment of effective border controls.
(Reuters, 6/30/14)
2014 Jul 1, Ukrainian forces struck at pro-Russian separatist bases in eastern regions with air and artillery strikes after President Petro Poroshenko announced he would not renew a ceasefire but go on the offensive to rid Ukraine of "parasites." Rebels captured the Interior Ministry headquarters in Donetsk.
(Reuters, 7/1/14)(AP, 7/1/14)
2014 Jul 2, In Ukraine 4 soldiers were killed as government forces carried out over 100 attacks on rebel positions and forced pro-Russia separatists out of three eastern villages.
(AP, 7/2/14)
2014 Jul 3, Ukraine's Pres. Poroshenko shook up the leadership of his struggling military, appointing a new defense minister and top general tasked with stamping out the corruption that has left the country's armed forces faltering before a pro-Russian insurgency. Three helicopters bearing the markings of the Russian armed forces violated Ukrainian airspace several times. Ukraine followed up with protests to Russia.
(AP, 7/3/14)(Reuters, 7/4/14)
2014 Jul 4, Ukraine National Security Council Secretary Andriy Parubiy said government troops have recaptured more than a dozen eastern villages from pro-Russia separatists but Russia is allowing the rebels to attack Ukrainian border posts from its territory. At least 13 military personnel were killed in separate incidents in fighting against pro-Russian rebels in the east. Insurgents in the Luhansk province said that they have killed 125 Ukrainian troops since July 2.
(AP, 7/4/14)(Reuters, 7/4/14)
2014 Jul 5, Ukraine's forces claimed a significant success against pro-Russian insurgents, chasing them from Slovyansk, one of their strongholds in the embattled east of the country. More than a hundred militiamen were said to have been killed in the last three days.
(AP, 7/5/14)
2014 Jul 5, Metropolitan Volodymyr (78), head of Ukraine's Moscow-linked parish of the Orthodox Church, died in Kiev.
(AP, 7/5/14)
2014 Jul 7, In Ukraine three bridges on key roads leading into the Donetsk were blown up in an apparent attempt to slow down any possible assault by government forces on the rebel-held stronghold.
(AP, 7/7/14)
2014 Jul 8, Ukraine's government signaled its intention to press on with its campaign against pro-Russian rebels and the militants, regrouping after losing their stronghold, said they were preparing to fight back.
(Reuters, 7/8/14)
2014 Jul 9, Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed in two night attacks in different parts of the east.
(Reuters, 7/10/14)
2014 Jul 9, Russian officials said Ukrainian air force pilot Nadezhda Savchenko (31), has been arrested in Russia and charged with abetting the June 17 killing of two Russian journalists. She was captured by separatist rebels last month.
(AP, 7/9/14)
2014 Jul 10, In eastern Ukraine Vladimir Antyufeyev (63), also known as Vadim Shevtsov, was named "deputy prime minister" by separatist leader Aleksander Borodai. He was one of several native Russians to have taken charge of the separatist rebellion in Ukraine's eastern regions.
(Reuters, 7/27/14)
2014 Jul 10, Ukrainian forces regained more ground but sustained further casualties in clashes with separatists. France and Germany urged Russia's Vladimir Putin to exert more pressure on the rebels to find a negotiated end to the conflict.
(Reuters, 7/10/14)
2014 Jul 11, In Ukraine pro-Russia rebels fired missiles at government troops near the Russian border, killing at least 19 servicemen.
(AP, 7/11/14)
2014 Jul 11, The Canadian government of PM Stephen Harper added 14 individuals to a list of people facing economic sanctions and travel bans related to the Ukrainian crisis. This brings to 43 the number of Russians targeted by Canada in sanctions coordinated with the US and the EU. Thirty pro-Russian Ukrainians have also been hit with visa bans and other measures by Ottawa.
(AFP, 7/12/14)
2014 Jul 12, In eastern Ukraine artillery fire killed at least 4 people in an overnight attack on a residential area, spurring more people to flee the besieged city of Donetsk and its suburbs.
(AP, 7/12/14)
2014 Jul 12, The EU moved to impose sanctions on 11 leaders of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow rebellion. Targets of the asset freeze and travel ban included two Russian spin doctors, Alexander Borodai, prime minister of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic, and his counterpart in the Luhansk People's Republic, Marat Bashirov.
(AP, 7/12/14)
2014 Jul 13, Russia threatened Ukraine with "irreversible consequences" after a man was killed by a shell fired across the border from Ukraine. Kiev said it had bombarded a convoy of 100 armored vehicles and trucks that had crossed into Ukraine carrying in rebel fighters from Russia. It also said 7 of its troops had been killed in attacks. The Donetsk city council said that 12 people had been killed at a mining settlement nearby. Municipal authorities in Luhansk said 6 people were killed in clashes there.
(Reuters, 7/13/14)
2014 Jul 14, Ukraine's Defense Minister said a military transport plane has been shot down along the country's eastern border with Russia. All eight aboard the plane managed to bail out safely. Kiev later said it has found four survivors, that two others are being held by rebels, and that it does not know the fate of the remaining two. President Petro Poroshenko accused Russian military staff officers of fighting alongside separatists in the east of the country and said a newly-developed Russian missile system was being used against government forces.
(AP, 7/14/14)(Reuters, 7/14/14)(SFC, 7/15/14, p.A3)(Reuters, 7/16/14)
2014 Jul 14, Russia’s foreign ministry said it has invited monitors from the OSCE European security and rights body to two of its border crossings with Ukraine as a sign of goodwill. A NATO military officer said Russia has been building up its forces again along the Ukrainian border and now has an estimated 10,000-12,000 troops in the area.
(Reuters, 7/14/14)
2014 Jul 15, In eastern Ukraine an airstrike demolished an apartment block, killing at least 11 civilians. The government denied blame.
(AP, 7/15/14)(SFC, 7/16/14, p.A2)
2014 Jul 16, In Ukraine fighting raged in the country’s east when separatists tried to break through the lines of government forces near the border with Russia and a tentative step towards agreeing conditions for a ceasefire failed. 11 more Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the space of 24 hours while hundreds of bodies of rebels were found in shallow graves in the former separatist stronghold of Slaviansk.
(Reuters, 7/16/14)
2014 Jul 16, Russian jets reportedly shot down a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter plane that was on military operations near Amvrosiyivka, about 15 km (about 9 miles) from the border with Russia, where government forces fought to quell a pro-Russian separatist rebellion. Russia denied that it shot down the plane.
(Reuters, 7/17/14)
2014 Jul 17, In eastern Ukraine separatists carried out 27 attacks on army checkpoints and positions of government forces over the last 24 hours leaving 5 Ukrainian servicemen killed.
(Reuters, 7/17/14)
2014 Jul 17, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with 298 people on board was shot down over eastern Ukraine. Officials strongly suspected the Boeing 777 was downed by a missile fired by Ukrainian separatists backed by Moscow. More than half of the dead passengers, 189 people, were Dutch. Twenty-nine were Malaysian, 27 Australian, 12 Indonesian, nine British, four German, four Belgian, three Filipino, one Canadian, one New Zealand and 4 as yet unidentified. All 15 crew were Malaysian.
(Reuters, 7/18/14)
2014 Jul 17, Ukraine's SBU security agency released recordings of what it claimed were phone talks involving rebels and a Russian military intelligence officer admitting that they had hit a passenger jet after mistaking it for a military aircraft.
(AFP, 7/20/14)
2014 Jul 18, In eastern Ukraine emergency workers, police officers and even off-duty coal miners searched the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 shot down a day earlier as it flew miles above the country's battlefield. Ukraine's state aviation service closed the airspace over two regions currently gripped by separatist fighting. 18 civilians were killed by government shelling.
(AP, 7/18/14)(Econ, 7/26/14, p.20)
2014 Jul 18, The European Union took the next step towards imposing tougher sanctions on Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis by agreeing the legal basis for widening its list of targets.
(AFP, 7/19/14)
2014 Jul 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a ceasefire by pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces fighting in eastern Ukraine to allow for negotiations.
(Reuters, 7/18/14)
2014 Jul 19, Ukraine accused Russia and pro-Moscow rebels of destroying evidence of "international crimes" as guerrillas and foreign observers faced off over access to the wreckage of the downed Malaysian airliner.
(Reuters, 7/19/14)
2014 Jul 20, Ukraine accused separatist rebels of hiding evidence that a Russian missile was used to shoot down a Malaysian airliner, while Britain said Moscow faced "pariah" status and the threat of further economic sanctions. Ukraine's Western-backed government said it had "compelling evidence" the Russian SA-11 radar-guided missile battery was not just brought in from Russia but manned by three Russians who had now taken it back over the border.
(Reuters, 7/20/14)
2014 Jul 21, In eastern Ukraine fighting flared in the city of Donetsk as investigators began to inspect the bodies of victims of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 last week. Four people were reported killed in the clashes. 13 government troops were killed in fighting in the east when "terrorists" attacked the army and their roadblocks 20 times.
(Reuters, 7/21/14)(Reuters, 7/22/14)
2014 Jul 22, In Ukraine five refrigerated wagons containing 200 body bags arrived in the city of Kharkiv after pro-Russian separatists agreed to hand over the black boxes from MH17 to Malaysian authorities and the bodies to the Netherlands, where many victims had lived.
(Reuters, 7/22/14)
2014 Jul 22, Ukraine’s government said the separatists were leaving their positions on the outskirts of Donetsk and retreating towards the city center.
(Reuters, 7/23/14)
2014 Jul 22, Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Vostok Battalion, acknowledged for the first time since MH17 airliner was brought down in eastern Ukraine that the rebels did possess the BUK missile system and said it could have been sent back subsequently to remove proof of its presence.
(Reuters, 7/24/14)
2014 Jul 22, The EU agreed to impose new sanctions against officials deemed responsible for Russia's actions in Ukraine, amid mounting international anger after a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over rebel-held territory.
(AP, 7/22/14)
2014 Jul 23, Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said reverse gas flows from the EU to Ukraine had fallen because of opposition from Russian gas producer Gazprom.
(Reuters, 7/23/14)
2014 Jul 23, Pro-Russian rebels shot down two Ukrainian fighter jets, not far from where a Malaysian airliner was brought down last week in eastern Ukraine. Local health officials said 432 people had been killed and 1,015 wounded since hostilities started in the Donetsk region.
(Reuters, 7/23/14)
2014 Jul 23, In eastern Ukraine Graham Phillips, a British journalist reporting for a Russian television channel, went missing, with Moscow alleging he and another journalist (Vadim) were captured by Kiev's troops. CNN journalist Anton Skiba was reportedly abducted in Donetsk.
(AFP, 7/23/14)
2014 Jul 24, Ukraine's PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk resigned in a shock move in protest at the disbanding of the ruling parliamentary coalition, plunging the strife-torn nation into political uncertainty. The formal dissolution of the majority coalition in the Verkhovna Rada gives President Petro Poroshenko the right over the next month to announce a fresh parliamentary poll.
(AFP, 7/24/14)
2014 Jul 24, The United States said it had evidence Russian forces were firing artillery from inside Russia on Ukrainian troops, in what officials called a "clear escalation" of the conflict.
(AFP, 7/24/14)
2014 Jul 25, Ukraine government forces took the strategically-important city of Lysychansk. It also reported losing 13 soldiers in the past 24 hours. Local authorities in the region of rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Lugansk said 16 people have been killed. A military spokesman said troops were coming under increased fire from the Russian side of the border and that the Ukrainian military had shot down three Russian surveillance drones. The house of Andry Sadovy, mayor of the western city of Lviv, was hit by a rocket fired late today.
(AFP, 7/25/14)(SFC, 7/26/14, p.A4)(AFP, 7/26/14)
2014 Jul 25, A Russian security official said up to 40 mortar shells fired by Ukrainian forces fell on the Russian province of Rostov near the border with eastern Ukraine where Kiev is fighting pro-Russian separatists.
(Reuters, 7/25/14)
2014 Jul 25, The Russian agency in charge of agricultural products said it is banning imports of Ukrainian dairy starting because of numerous quality flaws found in its products. Russia is a key market for Ukrainian dairy products. Kiev dismissed the move as politically motivated.
(AP, 7/25/14)
2014 Jul 25, The European Union extended its Ukraine-related sanctions to target top Russian intelligence officials and leaders of the pro-Russia revolt in eastern Ukraine. The action brought the total number of people under EU sanction in connection with Russia's annexation of Crimea and the revolt in eastern Ukraine to 87.
(AP, 7/26/14)
2014 Jul 26, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said his country was not fighting a civil war in its east but was fighting "foreign mercenaries." Rebels in Luhansk said at least 19 civilians had been killed in fighting overnight and local officials said 60 percent of the city was left with no electricity after power lines were damaged. Local authorities said they have uncovered the first mass grave in the former separatist bastion of Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine, containing the bodies of at least 4 civilians they say were executed by pro-Russian rebels.
(Reuters, 7/26/14)(AFP, 7/26/14)
2014 Jul 26, In Ukraine Oleg Babayev, mayor of the central-eastern city of Kremenchuk, was shot dead by alleged separatists not far from his home.
(AFP, 7/26/14)
2014 Jul 27, The US stepped up pressure on Moscow by releasing satellite images it says show that rockets have been fired from Russia into neighboring eastern Ukraine and that heavy artillery for pro-Russian separatists has crossed the border.
(AP, 7/27/14)
2014 Jul 28, In eastern Ukraine heavy fighting raged around the Malaysia Airlines debris field, once again preventing an international police team charged with securing the site from even getting there. A government-supported volunteer battalion said in a statement that it lost 23 soldiers during fighting in a town called Lutuhyne. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a report that at least 1,129 people have been killed between mid-April, when fighting began, and July 26.
(AP, 7/28/14)
2014 Jul 28, Japan said it is imposing more sanctions against Russia over its support for pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine who are accused of shooting down a Malaysian jet.
(AP, 7/29/14)
2014 Jul 29, In eastern Ukraine shelling in at least three cities hit a home for the elderly, a school and multiple homes, adding to a rapidly growing civilian death toll. At least 24 civilians and 10 soldiers were reported killed and another 55 wounded in fighting over the past day.
(AP, 7/29/14)(SFC, 7/30/14, p.A4)
2014 Jul 30, The EU targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle for the first time for the Kremlin's actions in Ukraine.
(AP, 7/31/14)
2014 Jul 31, In eastern Ukraine an international team of investigators reached the crash site of the Malaysia Airline Flight 17 for the first time.
(AP, 7/31/14)
2014 Aug 1, In eastern Ukraine a team of several dozen international investigators descended on the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash site. At least 10 Ukrainian soldiers were killed when their convoy was ambushed by pro-Russian separatist rebels in a town close to the wreckage site. The mayor of Lugansk warned that the insurgent stronghold is on the verge a humanitarian catastrophe, as a siege by government troops has seen water, electricity and food supplies cut off.
(AP, 8/1/14)(AFP, 8/2/14)
2014 Aug 1, Britain's state-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland said it has capped lending in Russia after the imposition this week of new economic sanctions against Moscow linked to the Ukraine crisis.
(AFP, 8/1/14)
2014 Aug 3, In eastern Ukraine fighting raged on the western outskirts of Donetsk as the advancing Ukrainian army tried to seize control of the rebel stronghold. In danger of being encircled, the separatists renewed their calls for Russia to send troops to their aid.
(AP, 8/3/14)
2014 Aug 4, Ukraine said 5 government soldiers were killed and 15 wounded over the last 24 hours in fighting in the east where Kiev forces recaptured an important railway hub from pro-Russian rebels. Ukraine acknowledged that 311 soldiers and border guards had been forced by fighting with separatists to cross into Russia.
(Reuters, 8/4/14)(AP, 8/4/14)(Reuters, 8/5/14)
2014 Aug 5, Ukrainian government forces, backed by warplanes, kept up a military offensive to claw back lost territory from pro-Russian separatists while casting a nervous eye at Russian military exercises over the border. Terrified residents fled the besieged rebel bastion of Donetsk along a perilous humanitarian corridor. The Donetsk city administration said in a statement published online that 3 people were killed in shelling overnight.
(Reuters, 8/5/14)(AFP, 8/5/14)(AP, 8/6/14)
2014 Aug 5, Japan unveiled details of financial sanctions against 40 individuals and two groups involved in the annexation of Crimea and destabilization of eastern Ukraine.
(AFP, 8/5/14)
2014 Aug 6, Russian photographer Andrei Stenin (33) was believed killed while travelling along with a convoy of refugees that came under fire from Ukrainian tanks and armored personnel carriers. His death was confirmed on Sep 3.
(AFP, 9/3/14)
2014 Aug 7, In eastern Ukraine a Dutch recovery team called off its work at the site where Malaysian airliner MH 17 was shot down over rebel held territory last month, saying the frontline location had become too dangerous. Ukraine said the halt to the recovery meant it would stop observing a ceasefire at the site. 7 more Ukrainian service members were killed in the past day of fighting. Sustained shelling in Donetsk struck residential buildings and a hospital, killing at least 4 people and wounding 10 others. Russian citizen Alexander Borodai, the PM of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said he was stepping down in favor of a local field commander, Alexander Zakharchenko.
(Reuters, 8/7/14)(AP, 8/7/14)(AFP, 8/7/14)
2014 Aug 8, Ukrainian army units, which had been trapped by separatists on the border with Russia, broke out of the blockade and rejoined government forces, but 15 soldiers and border guards were killed in the operation. At least 3 civilians were killed and another 10 wounded in overnight shelling of Donetsk, the main rebel stronghold besieged by government forces. The shelling came a few days after rebels had positioned a Grad multiple rocket launcher near the apartment building and fired at Ukrainian positions.
(Reuters, 8/8/14)(AP, 8/8/14)
2014 Aug 9, Ukraine said it had headed off an attempt by Russia to send troops into Ukraine under the guise of peacekeepers with the aim of provoking a large-scale military conflict. Government forces reportedly seized Krasnyi Luch, which lies on one of two main roads between Donetsk and the other rebel-held city of Luhansk.
(Reuters, 8/9/14)(AP, 8/9/14)
2014 Aug 10, In southeastern Ukraine artillery pounded the rebel bastion of Donetsk as the West warned Russia that any attempt to send "humanitarian" troops into the conflict-torn region would be unacceptable. Rockets late today slammed into a high-security prison in Donetsk, igniting a riot that allowed more than 100 prisoners to flee.
(AFP, 8/10/14)(AP, 8/11/14)
2014 Aug 10, Interfax news reported that five Ukrainian soldiers, who were detained after crossing the border into Russia, have been released back to their unit. The five were among 18 against whom Russia had opened criminal investigations. Twenty-eight Ukrainian border guard officers were also being held in Russia.
(Reuters, 8/10/14)
2014 Aug 12, A convoy of 280 Russian trucks reportedly packed with aid traveled some 500 km (300 miles) to the southwestern Russian town of Voronezh as it headed for eastern Ukraine, but Kiev said it would only allow the goods through under the close supervision of the international Red Cross.
(AP, 8/12/14)(Reuters, 8/13/14)
2014 Aug 13, In eastern Ukraine 12 nationalist fighters, battling a pro-Russian insurgency, were killed early today and an unknown number taken captive when rebels ambushed their bus. More than 100 Russian soldiers were killed near the town of Snizhnye, Donetsk Province, while helping pro-Russian separatists fight Ukrainian troops.
(Reuters, 8/13/14)(Reuters, 8/28/14)
2014 Aug 13, A Russian convoy of nearly 300 trucks, carrying what Russia says is humanitarian aid for victims of fighting in eastern Ukraine, moved slowly towards the border despite concerns by Kiev and the West over the shipment. The UN said the death toll in fighting in eastern Ukraine had doubled in the last two weeks to over 2,000. Ukraine said it could allow Russian aid to enter the country after it was inspected by Ukrainian border guards and foreign monitors.
(Reuters, 8/13/14)(AFP, 8/13/14)(AFP, 8/14/14)
2014 Aug 14, The Ukrainian parliament approved a law to impose sanctions on Russian companies and individuals supporting and financing separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 8/14/14)
2014 Aug 14, In eastern Ukraine artillery shells hit close to the center of Donetsk for the first time, killing at least one person. Kiev repeated that a Russian aid convoy could not enter until Ukrainian authorities had cleared its cargo. Shelling over the last 24 hours killed at least 22 residents in the besieged rebel-held bastion of Lugansk. Valery Bolotov, head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, announced his resignation, saying he was injured and could not carry on in his role. Igor Strelkov (aka Igor Girkin), an alleged Russian intelligence colonel, quit as a key rebel chief.
(Reuters, 8/14/14)(AFP, 8/14/14)
2014 Aug 14, Ukrainian hackers hostile to the government claimed to have launched a cyber-attack against the websites of Poland's presidency and the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
(AFP, 8/14/14)
2014 Aug 15, Dozens of heavy Russian military vehicles massed near the border with Ukraine, while Ukrainian border guards crossed the frontier to inspect a huge Russian aid convoy. Shelling killed 11 civilians and wounded eight more over the past 24 hours in the besieged rebel stronghold of Donetsk. NATO and Ukraine said Russian military vehicles did cross into Ukraine during the night and the Ukrainian president said most of them were destroyed by his troops.
(Reuters, 8/15/14)(AFP, 8/15/14)(AP, 8/15/14)
2014 Aug 15, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto told his counterpart Vladimir Putin that Western sanctions against Moscow and the food ban Russia introduced in response were damaging bilateral ties and proposed to seek ways to end the Ukraine crisis.
(Reuters, 8/15/14)
2014 Aug 16, Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists fought skirmishes near the Russian border but there was no sign of the conflict widening after Kiev said it partially destroyed an armored column that had crossed the border from Russia. A rebel Internet news outlet said that separatist fighters had killed 30 members of a Ukrainian government battalion in fighting in Luhansk province. Ukrainian defense ministry spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said 3 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed over the past 24 hours. Alexander Zakharchenko, self-proclaimed separatist government in the Donetsk region, said newly-trained fighters have 150 armored vehicles, including 30 tanks, and have gathered near a "corridor" along the Russian border.
(Reuters, 8/16/14)(AP, 8/17/14)
2014 Aug 16, Ukraine government forces captured a district police station in Luhansk after bitter clashes in the Velika Vergunka neighborhood. Separatists shot down a Ukrainian fighter plane over the Luhansk region after it launched an attack on rebels.
(AP, 8/17/14)
2014 Aug 17, In eastern Ukraine Donetsk city authorities said 10 civilians have been killed and eight wounded in the past 24 hours.
(AP, 8/17/14)
2014 Aug 18, In eastern Ukraine government forces pressed pro-Russian separatists in fighting overnight, encircling the rebel-held town of Horlivka and taking control of smaller settlements. 17 civilians were killed in a rebel attack on a convoy of people on the main road leading to Russia from the besieged rebel-held city of Luhansk.
(Reuters, 8/18/14)(AP, 8/18/14)(Reuters, 8/21/14)
2014 Aug 19, A Ukrainian military spokesman said 15 bodies have been recovered from the site of an artillery strike a day earlier on a refugee bus convoy in east Ukraine. Further recovery operations were suspended due to renewed fighting in the area. Government troops fought pro-Russian rebels in the streets of Luhansk and captured most of Ilovaysk town near the eastern city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 8/19/14)(AP, 8/19/14)
2014 Aug 19, Ukraine said it has blocked 14 Russian television channels from its cable networks to stop them spreading war propaganda.
(Reuters, 8/19/14)
2014 Aug 20, A Ukrainian official said government troops have taken control of a large part of Luhansk (Lugansk) after days of street battles with rebels. A Ukrainian warplane was blown out of the sky over rebel-held territory as fierce clashes between government troops and pro-Russian insurgents left dozens of civilians dead. Clashes in and around the rebel stronghold of Donetsk killed 43 civilians in the past 24 hours.
(AP, 8/20/14)(AFP, 8/20/14)
2014 Aug 20, Russian police arrested four people who climbed a Moscow skyscraper and attached a Ukrainian flag to its spire. They were charged with vandalism and may face three years in jail.
(Reuters, 8/20/14)
2014 Aug 21, Ukrainian border guards began to inspect a Russian truck convoy carrying aid earmarked for humanitarian relief in eastern Ukraine that has been stranded at the frontier for nearly a week. A Ukrainian military spokesman said 3 refugees including a child (5) were killed near Luhansk when rebel gunfire hit their car. 5 Ukrainian servicemen were also reported killed overnight.
(Reuters, 8/21/14)
2014 Aug 21, Ukrainian Economy Minister Pavlo Sheremeta said he had tendered his resignation, voicing frustration at the poor pace of economic reform by a government which he said acted "like a predator towards business".
(Reuters, 8/21/14)
2014 Aug 21, Russian natural gas exporter Gazprom said that Ukraine's outstanding debt for gas supplies stood at $5.3 billion as of Aug. 1 and called on Kiev to ensure that gas continues to transit without disruption to Europe.
(Reuters, 8/21/14)
2014 Aug 22, Ukraine declared that Russia had launched a "direct invasion" of its territory after Moscow sent a convoy of aid trucks across the border into eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian rebels are fighting government forces. Ukrainian officials said only 34 or 35 of over 100 trucks had been properly checked.
(Reuters, 8/22/14)
2014 Aug 23, Hundreds of trucks from a disputed Russian aid convoy to rebel-held eastern Ukraine rolled back across the border into Russia but questions about alleged Russian artillery in Ukraine still remained.
(AP, 8/23/14)
2014 Aug 25, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko dissolved the Rada (parliament).
(Econ, 8/30/14, p.509)
2014 Aug 25, Ukraine forces captured 10 Russian paratroopers, near a village about 30 miles southeast of the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, and about 15 miles away from the Russian border.
(Reuters, 8/26/14)
2014 Aug 25, Russia announced plans for a second aid convoy into Ukraine. The Ukrainian military said a group of Russian forces, in the guise of separatist rebels, had crossed into south-east Ukraine with 10 tanks and two armored infantry vehicles. It said border guards had halted the column outside Novoazovsk.
(AFP, 8/25/14)(Reuters, 8/25/14)
2014 Aug 26, In Belarus Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, urged him not to escalate an offensive against pro-Moscow rebels, and threatened economic retaliation for signing a trade accord with the EU. Poroshenko replied by demanding a halt to arms shipments from Russia to the separatist fighters.
(Reuters, 8/26/14)
2014 Aug 27, In southeastern Ukraine pro-Russian rebel forces entered the key town of Novoazovsk after three days of heavy shelling. The new southeastern front has raised fears the separatists are seeking to create a land link between Russia and Crimea. The Ukrainian military said that more Russian soldiers had crossed the border entering the small town of Amvrosiyivka in five armored infantry carriers and a truck.
(AP, 8/27/14)(Reuters, 8/27/14)
2014 Aug 28, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that Russian forces had entered his country and the military conflict was worsening after Russian-backed separatists swept into a key town in the east. NATO said well over 1,000 Russian troops are now operating inside Ukraine. 15 civilians were reported killed in shelling in Donetsk.
(Reuters, 8/28/14)
2014 Aug 28, In central Russia several dozen women gathered outside a military base in Kostroma to demand that commanders come clean about the whereabouts of their husbands after reports of secret funerals for soldiers covertly sent to Ukraine.
(AFP, 8/28/14)
2014 Aug 29, Ukraine said it would seek the protection of NATO membership after what Kiev and its Western allies say is the open participation of the Russian military in the war in the eastern provinces. Pro-Moscow rebels said they would comply with a request from the Kremlin and open up a 'humanitarian corridor' to allow the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops they have encircled.
(Reuters, 8/29/14)
2014 Aug 30, In eastern Ukraine a group of pro-government fighters broke out of encirclement by Russian-backed separatists near Donetsk, but other reports suggested many were still trapped. Ukraine handed over 10 captured Russian paratroops and Russia returned 63 Ukrainian soldiers who crossed into its territory last week.
(Reuters, 8/30/14)(Reuters, 8/31/14)
2014 Aug 30, A Ukrainian civilian cargo plane with 7 crew members crashed in the mountains of Algeria while on its way to Equatorial Guinea.
(SSFC, 8/31/14, p.A5)
2014 Aug 30, EU leaders agreed to ask the executive European Commission to draw up more sanctions measures against Russia, as armored columns of Russian troops came to the aid of the rebellion in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 8/31/14)
2014 Aug 31, A Ukraine naval vessel in the Azov Sea came under artillery attack from the shore today, in what pro-Russian rebels claimed as the first sea victory of their separatist war.
(Reuters, 8/31/14)
2014 Aug 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for immediate talks on "statehood" for southern and eastern Ukraine, although his spokesman said this did not mean Moscow now endorsed rebel calls for independence for territory they have seized.
(Reuters, 8/31/14)
2014 Sep 1, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russia of "direct and undisguised aggression" which he said had radically changed the battlefield balance as Kiev's forces suffered a further reverse in their war with pro-Moscow separatists. Ukrainian forces were forced to retreat from Lugansk airport in the face of a Russian troop attack as Moscow soldiers moved into key eastern cities.
(Reuters, 9/1/14)(AFP, 9/1/14)
2014 Sep 1, Australia ratcheted up sanctions against Russia in line with the United States and EU in response to Russian soldiers openly violating Ukraine sovereignty.
(AP, 9/1/14)
2014 Sep 1, In Belarus pro-Russian rebels softened their demand for full independence, saying they would respect Ukraine's sovereignty in exchange for autonomy — a shift that reflects Moscow's desire to strike a deal at a new round of peace talks.
(AP, 9/1/14)
2014 Sep 2, Ukraine’s military said Russian troops were strengthening their positions in the east and using aid shipments to smuggle in arms and other supplies to separatist forces. 15 more Ukrainian servicemen were killed in fighting in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 9/2/14)
2014 Sep 3, A Ukrainian official said the bodies of 87 soldiers had been retrieved from southeastern Ukraine, killed over the weekend near the eastern city of Ilovaysk.
(AP, 9/3/14)
2014 Sep 3, Australia banned uranium sales to Russia over its actions in Ukraine while announcing it will set up an embassy in Kiev and may offer military assistance.
(AFP, 9/3/14)
2014 Sep 3, The EU said it is deploying dozens of experts to Ukraine to help reform police forces and bolster the new West-leaning government's commitment to the rule of law.
(AFP, 9/3/14)
2014 Sep 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin said a deal to end fighting in eastern Ukraine could be reached this week. The announcement was timed by the Kremlin to wrong-foot NATO on the eve of a summit that will discuss the crisis and to sow doubt in the European Union over imposing new sanctions against Moscow.
(Reuters, 9/3/14)
2014 Sep 4, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the main pro-Russian rebel leader said they would both order ceasefires on Sep 5, provided that an agreement is signed on a new peace plan to end the five month war in Ukraine's east.
(Reuters, 9/4/14)
2014 Sep 5, In Ukraine fighting raged between government forces and pro-Russian rebels just east of the strategic port of Mariupol despite the start of talks between envoys from Ukraine and Russia in Minsk on a ceasefire and a peace plan. Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels agreed to a ceasefire.
(Reuters, 9/5/14)
2014 Sep 6, In eastern Ukraine shelling resumed near the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov late today, just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko had agreed in a phone call that the truce was holding.
(Reuters, 9/7/14)
2014 Sep 7, A senior aide to Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko said an agreement was reached during the NATO summit in Wales on the provision of weapons and military advisers from five member states of the alliance.
(Reuters, 9/7/14)
2014 Sep 7, In eastern Ukraine a woman died and at least four people were wounded when fighting flared again overnight. Fighting broke out early today on the northern outskirts of rebel-held Donetsk. Both the rebels and the Ukrainian military insisted they were strictly observing the ceasefire and blamed their opponents for any violations.
(Reuters, 9/7/14)
2014 Sep 8, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced that 1,200 captives held by pro-Russian rebels have been freed over the last 4 days.
(AFP, 9/8/14)
2014 Sep 9, Ukraine said it was drafting a list of food and other products it plans to ban from Russia in retaliation for Moscow's own painful and politically-charged restrictions.
(AFP, 9/9/14)
2014 Sep 10, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that Russia has withdrawn about 70% of the troops it allegedly sent across the border to back a bloody pro-Kremlin uprising.
(AFP, 9/10/14)(SFC, 9/11/14, p.A5)
2014 Sep 13, A Russian convoy of more than 200 white trucks crossed the border to deliver humanitarian aid to Luhansk, a move made without Kiev's consent yet met with silence by Ukraine's top leaders.
(AP, 9/13/14)
2014 Sep 14, Ukraine's defense minister said that NATO countries were delivering weapons to his country to equip it to fight pro-Russian separatists and "stop" Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters, 9/14/14)
2014 Sep 14, In eastern Ukraine two northern neighborhoods in Donetsk were shelled heavily. At least 6 people were killed and 15 others wounded. 73 Ukrainian soldiers were freed in an exchange with the rebels.
(AP, 9/15/14)
2014 Sep 15, In Ukraine US-led military exercises involving 15 countries began, as fighting rumbled on in the restive east between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in violation of a ceasefire.
(AFP, 9/15/14)
2014 Sep 16, Ukraine's parliament ratified an agreement to deepen economic and political ties with the EU, and passed legislation to grant autonomy to the rebellious east as part of a peace deal.
(AP, 9/16/14)
2014 Sep 16, Romania's energy minister said Russia was playing games with gas supplies to cause concerns in EU states, after analysts warned that Moscow could use the flows to retaliate against sanctions imposed over its role in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 9/16/14)
2014 Sep 16, Slovak gas importer SPP reported a 25 percent reduction in gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine, the biggest drop since a decline in deliveries was first reported last week.
(Reuters, 9/16/14)
2014 Sep 17, In eastern Ukraine shelling in the rebel-held city of Donetsk killed 2 people and wounded three others.
(AP, 9/17/14)
2014 Sep 18, Poland said it will create a joint military unit with Lithuania and Ukraine, with its command headquarters in the eastern Polish city of Lublin.
(Reuters, 9/18/14)
2014 Sep 18, The United States pledged $53 million in fresh aid to Ukraine for its struggle against Russia's incursion, including counter-mortar radar equipment, in a gesture of support for visiting Ukraine Pres. Poroshenko.
(Reuters, 9/18/14)
2014 Sep 20, The Ukrainian city of Donetsk was rocked by blasts, even as government forces and pro-Russian separatists prepared to create a buffer zone to separate the warring sides. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and seven others were wounded in overnight violence. A nine-point memorandum was signed earlier in the day in the Belarussian capital of Minsk by the separatists and envoys from Moscow and Kiev.
(Reuters, 9/20/14)
2014 Sep 21, The Ukrainian military accused separatists and Russian troops of continuing to shoot at government forces despite a Sept. 5 ceasefire and said Kiev would not go ahead with setting up a proposed buffer zone until the truce violations stopped.
(Reuters, 9/21/14)
2014 Sep 22, Ukraine's military said it was pulling back artillery and heavy armor from the front line with separatists, backing President Petro Poroshenko's peace plan for a conflict that has cost more than 3,000 lives.
(Reuters, 9/22/14)
2014 Sep 23, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian rebels said they were withdrawing guns and tanks from the frontline under a peace plan forged with Kiev that aims to end five months of conflict.
(AFP, 9/23/14)
2014 Sep 24, Ukrainian peace efforts stalled after pro-Russian insurgents called their own elections in defiance of a deal under which they and the Ukrainian army began withdrawing heavy weapons after 5 months of war.
(AFP, 9/24/14)
2014 Sep 25, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko ordered a temporary closure of its porous border with Russia and voiced plans to apply for EU membership in 2020 as part of his ex-Soviet country's Westward shift.
(AFP, 9/25/14)
2014 Sep 25, Hungary unexpectedly cut off natural gas shipments to Ukraine. Hungary had been sending an estimated 3 million cubic meters of natural gas a day to Ukraine, which has not received any from Russia since June.
(AP, 9/26/14)
2014 Sep 27, A Ukrainian security official said that one serviceman and one civilian have been killed in the past day as rebels in the east continue attacks despite a cease-fire declared three weeks ago.
(AP, 9/27/14)
2014 Sep 29, A shaky truce between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian military was challenged when 9 soldiers and 3 civilians were reported killed in a surge of fighting across the separatist east.
(AFP, 9/29/14)(SFC, 9/29/14, p.A5)
2014 Sep 29, Russia launched a criminal case against "unidentified representatives of Ukraine's senior political and military leadership", National Guard and nationalist organizations, in which it accused them of committing "genocide."
(Reuters, 9/30/14)
2014 Sep 30, Ukrainian state prosecutors said they have opened a criminal investigation against a Russian law enforcement agency, accusing it of supporting separatist and "terrorist" groups in the east of the country.
(Reuters, 9/30/14)
2014 Oct 1, Rebels in eastern Ukraine appeared to be successfully closing in on the government-held airport in Donetsk, a strategic victory for the pro-Russian separatists. At least 10 people were killed when shells hit a school playground and a public transit mini-van in a nearby street in Donetsk. City authorities blamed the shelling on the rebels and the separatists blamed it on government forces.
(AP, 10/1/14)(Reuters, 10/1/14)
2014 Oct 2, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian insurgents launched a fresh assault on the Donetsk Airport held by isolated Ukrainian forces as a month-old truce came under renewed strain and calls grew for the Kremlin to help halt the bloody revolt.
(AFP, 10/2/14)
2014 Oct 3, Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels clashed around the flashpoint city of Donetsk, while trading blame over the death last night of Laurent DuPasqiuer (38), a Swiss aid worker. 12 separatists were killed during the attacks on the Donetsk airport. 2 Ukrainian servicemen were also killed.
(Reuters, 10/3/14)(Reuters, 10/4/14)
2014 Oct 5, In eastern Ukraine artillery blasts rocked Donetsk, exactly one month since the rebels signed a 12-point agreement with Kiev's representatives to try to halt the hostilities. Ukraine says 75 soldiers and civilians have been killed since the official ceasefire on September 5.
(AFP, 10/5/14)
2014 Oct 6, Ukraine officials said 7 civilians and 5 government soldiers have been killed in the past day of clashes with pro-Russian insurgents despite a truce between the two sides.
(AFP, 10/6/14)
2014 Oct 7, The German government said a convoy of 112 trucks carrying aid from Germany has crossed into Ukraine and the goods will be distributed in the country's east by local officials.
(AP, 10/7/14)
2014 Oct 8, The UN said the conflict in eastern Ukraine is still claiming about 10 lives a day among government troops, pro-Russian separatists and civilians despite a ceasefire agreed in early September.
(Reuters, 10/8/14)
2014 Oct 9, Ukraine's president approved legislation to purge government bodies of officials linked to the rule of the country's previous leader, Viktor Yanukovych.
(AP, 10/9/14)
2014 Oct 11, The Ukrainian army said that its positions had been attacked overnight in Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Shelling in the regions killed 5 people over the past 24 hours in the latest deadly violations of a ceasefire.
(AFP, 10/11/14)
2014 Oct 14, In Ukraine 7 civilians died and 17 were injured when shells exploded near a funeral procession in a suburb of the eastern city of Mariupol. 7 soldiers had died over the last 24 hours as forces outside the city were attacked with artillery from the east. Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police in front of the parliament in Kiev as deputies inside repeatedly voted down proposals to recognize a contentious World War II-era Ukrainian partisan group as national heroes.
(AP, 10/14/14)
2014 Oct 15, In Ukraine a "rogue" band of pro-Russian rebels surrounded more than 100 Ukrainian troops in the eastern Lugansk region. The attackers were fighters of the so-called Donskoy army which does not obey the Lugansk People's Republic (LNR).
(AFP, 10/15/14)
2014 Oct 16, In eastern Ukraine 11 soldiers went missing in action after getting caught in an ambush in Smile, Lugansk region, while another 3 were killed in fighting.
(AFP, 10/17/14)
2014 Oct 17, Meeting in Milan, Italy, Russia and Ukraine made progress towards resolving a row over gas supplies, but European leaders said Moscow had to do much more to prop up a fragile ceasefire and end fighting in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 10/17/14)
2014 Oct 18, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said in a television interview that Russia has agreed to supply Ukraine with gas through March 31 at a price of $385 per 1,000 cubic meters.
(AP, 10/19/14)
2014 Oct 18, In eastern Ukraine 2 soldiers were killed in combat with pro-Russian rebels over the last 24 hours. 2 civilians were also killed after a shell hit a residential house in the western district of rebel hub Donetsk.
(AFP, 10/18/14)
2014 Oct 20, A report by Ukraine's parliament revealed that more than 300 soldiers were killed during a weeks-long battle in August that marked a crushing setback in the military campaign to root out pro-Russian separatist forces in the city of Ilovaisk.
(AP, 10/20/14)
2014 Oct 24, US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, NATO's military commander, said Russia still has troops in eastern Ukraine and retains a very capable force on the border despite a partial withdrawal.
(Reuters, 10/24/14)
2014 Oct 26, A divided Ukraine voted in parliamentary elections. The People’s Front party of PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk beat Pres. Poroshenko’s bloc by 22.8% to 21.8%. The election handed Poroshenko a mandate to end a separatist conflict and steer the country further out of Russia's orbit into Europe's mainstream.
(AFP, 10/26/14)(Reuters, 10/27/14)(Econ, 11/1/14, p.50)
2014 Oct 30, In eastern Ukraine 7 government soldiers were reported killed in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire with separatists.
(Reuters, 10/30/14)
2014 Oct 30, Moscow, Kiev and the European Union clinched an agreement to resume supplies of Russian gas to Ukraine over the winter and secure transit of gas via Ukraine to Europe.
(Reuters, 10/31/14)
2014 Oct 31, Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatseniuk said Ukraine would guarantee deliveries of gas through its territory to Europe to make sure Moscow had no room for "blackmailing".
(Reuters, 10/31/14)
2014 Oct 31, Russia’s Gazprom said it may restart gas supply to Ukraine as soon as next week if Kiev pays $2.2 billion worth of debt and pre-payments, under a deal that is also vital to ensure deliveries to Europe.
(Reuters, 10/31/14)
2014 Nov 1, Ukraine said 6 government soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours, as a fragile ceasefire in the east was tested by heavy mortar fire in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 11/1/14)
2014 Nov 2, Separatists in eastern Ukraine held elections condemned by Kiev and Western governments, but backed by Russia, as Ukrainian claims of "intensive" troop movements across the Russian border cast new doubts over a truce. Ukrainian authorities announced the deaths of 3 more soldiers and seven more wounded. Alexander Zakharchenko, the rebel leader in Donetsk, claimed an easy victory. The head of the separatists in Luhansk region, Igor Plotnitsky, won by a similarly large margin.
(AFP, 11/2/14)(AP, 11/3/14)
2014 Nov 5, Ukraine announced that it will freeze budget subsidies for the eastern territories controlled by pro-Russian separatists. 2 civilians, including a teenage boy, were killed when shelling hit a school playing field in rebel-held Donetsk.
(AP, 11/5/14)(AFP, 11/5/14)
2014 Nov 6, Ukraine announced passport controls around areas held by pro-Russian separatists in the latest step toward what resembles the breakup of the ex-Soviet republic, as heavy artillery fire erupted in Donetsk. Several more bodies of victims from the July 17 crash of Malaysia Flight 17 were found near the crash site.
(AFP, 11/6/14)(SFC, 11/8/14, p.A2)
2014 Nov 7, Ukraine’s military said a column of 32 tanks, 16 howitzer artillery systems and trucks carrying ammunition and fighters has crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia. 5 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 16 wounded in the past 24 hours despite the ceasefire.
(Reuters, 11/7/14)
2014 Nov 8, In eastern Ukraine Associated Press reporters saw more than 80 unmarked military vehicles on the move in rebel-controlled areas, indicating that intensified hostilities may lie ahead.
(AP, 11/8/14)
2014 Nov 9, East Ukraine's rebel stronghold Donetsk was pummeled by the heaviest shelling in a month, and the OSCE said it spotted an armored column of troops without insignia in rebel territory that Kiev said proved Moscow had sent reinforcements. 3 Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed in the past 24 hours and a further 13 injured.
(Reuters, 11/9/14)
2014 Nov 10, In eastern Ukraine new unidentified unarmored columns rumbled toward the pro-Moscow rebel stronghold of Donetsk as fears grew of a return to all-out fighting in the war-torn region.
(AFP, 11/10/14)
2014 Nov 11, In eastern Ukraine Heavy shelling resumed around the pro-Russian separatist stronghold of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 11/11/14)
2014 Nov 13, Ukraine's representative to the OSCE security and rights body told an Austrian newspaper it was now hardly possible to speak of a ceasefire, citing 2,400 alleged breaches of the truce by rebels. He said 4 Ukrainian servicemen had been killed in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 11/13/14)
2014 Nov 15, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued several decrees to shut state institutions and banking services in pro-Russian eastern regions. 7 soldiers were reported killed in the past 24 hours, while the press service for the 'Donetsk People's Republic' said six civilians, including two children, were killed in shelling a day earlier.
(Reuters, 11/15/14)
2014 Nov 17, Ukraine security officials said 7 government soldiers and 3 police officers were killed in the east in the past 24 hours, while one civilian was killed and eight wounded over the weekend.
(AFP, 11/17/14)
2014 Nov 19, Russia urged Ukraine's leaders to talk directly to separatists to end the conflict in the east, but Kiev rejected the call and told Moscow to stop "playing games" aimed at legitimizing "terrorists".
(Reuters, 11/19/14)
2014 Nov 21, Serbia said it will revoke its citizenship granted to Ukrainian businessman Sergei Kurchenko, sanctioned by the EU and wanted in his country on embezzlement charges. Kurchenko was seen as close to former pro-Russian Pres. Viktor Yanukovych and left Ukraine in February, around the time Yanukovych fled the country amid violent protests.
(AP, 11/21/14)
2014 Nov 22, In eastern Ukraine 4 servicemen were killed in fighting with pro-Russian separatists, despite a ceasefire in place since September.
(Reuters, 11/24/14)
2014 Nov 24, Ukraine reported that 3 servicemen have been killed in the past 24 hours in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the east despite a ceasefire in place since early September. President Petro Poroshenko said Lithuania is to provide Ukraine with some military aid to help in its fight against pro-Russian separatists.
(Reuters, 11/24/14)
2014 Nov 27, In eastern Ukraine a boy (12) and a woman (55) were killed by shelling in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk.
(AP, 11/27/14)
2014 Nov 27, EU governments agreed to add 13 Ukrainian separatists and five organizations to the bloc's sanctions list.
(Reuters, 11/27/14)
2014 Nov 30, Ukraine said that a convoy of 106 vehicles had entered its eastern territory from Russia without Kiev's permission and accused Moscow of once again using humanitarian aid shipments to send weapons and ammunition to separatist rebels.
(Reuters, 11/30/14)
2014 Dec 1, Ukraine landed a 150 million euro ($187 million) loan from the European Investment Bank to modernize its section of the pipeline used to deliver natural gas from Russia to Europe.
(AP, 12/1/14)
2014 Dec 1, The OSCE said Ukrainian government troops and Russian-backed separatist forces in the Luhansk region have agreed on a new cease-fire to start Dec 5.
(AP, 12/2/14)
2014 Dec 2, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance member countries have approved a new interim quick-reaction military force to protect themselves from Russia or other threats. Foreign ministers from the 28 NATO countries and Ukraine condemned a Russian military build-up in Crimea and what they called Russia's "deliberate destabilization" of eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 12/2/14)(4, 12/2/14)
2014 Dec 5, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said "If we give up Donetsk (airport), the enemy will be at Borispil or Gostomel or even in Lviv."
(Reuters, 12/5/14)
2014 Dec 9, Ukrainian government troops and separatists said their forces were complying with an agreed "Day of Silence" in Ukraine's war-torn east, marking an attempt to forge an effective ceasefire which may lead to a new round of peace talks.
(Reuters, 12/9/14)
2014 Dec 9, Russia resumed shipments of natural gas to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 12/9/14)
2014 Dec 11, Ukraine's parliament approved the new government's economic program of tough reforms aimed at securing billions of dollars in financial aid from the International Monetary Fund and other backers. a military spokesman said 3 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and eight wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 12/11/14)
2014 Dec 12, American politicians agreed to supply weapons to Ukrainian troops.
(Econ, 12/20/14, p.111)
2014 Dec 15, UN rights investigators said at least 4,707 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and pro-Russian rebels since the conflict began in mid-April.
(SFC, 12/16/14, p.A2)
2014 Dec 16, Pres. Obama signed legislation imposing further sanctions on Russia and authorizing additional aid to Ukraine.
(SFC, 12/17/14, p.A5)
2014 Dec 18, The EU imposed additional sanctions on Crimea, banning all investment and cruise ships from its ports to force home the message the bloc will not recognize Russia's "illegal annexation" of Ukraine territory.
(AFP, 12/18/14)
2014 Dec 19, The United States imposed sanctions on Russian-controlled Crimea as Ukraine announced the loss of five soldiers ahead of peace talks meant to end a war against Russian-backed insurgents.
(AFP, 12/19/14)
2014 Dec 23, The Ukrainian parliament renounced Ukraine's "non-aligned" status with the aim of eventually joining NATO, angering Moscow which views the Western alliance's eastward expansion as a threat to its own security.
(AP, 12/23/14)
2014 Dec 24, In Belarus peace talk began aimed at reaching a stable cease-fire in Ukraine between its government forces and pro-Russian armed groups. Talks ended after over five hours with no indication of progress.
(AP, 12/24/14)(SFC, 12/25/14, p.A5)
2014 Dec 25, An agreement to swap 125 Ukrainian servicemen for 225 rebels held by Kiev followed peace talks between envoys of Ukraine, Russia, the separatists and European security watchdog OSCE.
(Reuters, 12/26/14)
2014 Dec 26, In Ukraine rebels slightly stepped up their attacks on Ukrainian positions in the east of the country and one Ukrainian servicemen was reported killed in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 12/26/14)
2014 Dec 26, Ukraine suspended train and bus services to the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, citing security concerns. A day later an official said the suspension would be temporary. The government and pro-Russian separatists also swapped 145 Ukrainian servicemen for 222 rebel prisoners of war.
(AP, 12/26/14)(Reuters, 12/27/14)(AFP, 12/27/14)
2014 Dec 27, Russia said it has agreed on a new deal to supply coal and electricity to Ukraine, which is struggling with a lack of raw fuel for power plants due to a separatist conflict in the industrial east.
(Reuters, 12/27/14)
2014 Dec 29, Ukrainian Pres. Petro Poroshenko signed a bill dropping his country's nonaligned status but signaled that he will hold a referendum before seeking NATO membership.
(AP, 12/29/14)
2014 Dec 31, In eastern Ukraine a widespread electricity outage hit Luhansk, the second-largest city in the separatist east. The leader of the rebels who control it claimed that's due to Ukrainian sabotage.
(AP, 12/31/14)
2014 Andrey Kurkov authored “Ukraine Diaries: Dispatches from Kiev." An English translation was made by Sam Taylor.
(Econ, 8/9/14, p.67)
2014 Transparency Int’l. ranked Ukraine 144th out of 177 countries in a global ranking of public perceptions of corruption.
(Econ, 11/15/14, p.75)
2015 Jan 1, Ukrainian separatists carried out sporadic attacks on government forces as the New Year began, wounding three soldiers. Rebel mortar fire reportedly killed one civilian. Alexander Bednov, head of a battalion called "Batman," was killed when separatist security forces tried to arrest him in the Luhansk region.
(Reuters, 1/1/15)(AP, 1/4/15)
2015 Jan 2, Ukraine reported its first military death of 2015 in its conflict with pro-Russian separatists, saying a soldier had been killed and five others wounded in attacks by the rebels.
(Reuters, 1/2/15)
2015 Jan 5, In eastern Ukraine 12 servicemen were killed and 21 injured when their bus collided with two heavy trucks on a snowy road.
(AP, 1/6/15)
2015 Jan 8, The European Union offered to lend Ukraine a further 1.8 billion euros ($2.12 billion) on the condition that Kiev respects the terms of an international bailout and continues its reform program.
(AP, 1/8/15)
2015 Jan 9, Ukrainian officials said 6 soldiers have been killed in two days of fighting as separatists intensified shelling of government positions.
(SFC, 1/10/15, p.A2)
2015 Jan 11, In eastern Ukraine intense fighting erupted around Donetsk wrecking a power station and briefly trapping more than 300 coal miners in one of Europe's largest pits.
(AFP, 1/11/15)
2015 Jan 12, Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France scrapped plans to hold a summit in Kazakhstan later this week because of the failure to implement a four-month-old ceasefire agreement fully and there was no sign of when it might be rescheduled.
(Reuters, 1/13/15)
2015 Jan 12, Interpol said it has put ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich on the international wanted list on Ukrainian charges of embezzlement and financial wrong-doing.
(Reuters, 1/12/15)
2015 Jan 13, In eastern Ukraine a long-range Grad rocket hit a passenger bus, killing at least 12 people. Fighting intensified around the international airport in the city of Donetsk as separatists tried to oust government forces.
(Reuters, 1/13/15)(AFP, 1/14/15)
2015 Jan 15, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko agreed that the delayed talks on the Ukraine conflict with leaders of Russia, France and Germany will take place at the end of the month in Astana.
(AFP, 1/15/15)
2015 Jan 16, Ukraine officials said 6 soldiers have been killed in attacks by separatists in the past 24 hours, as fighting raged at the international airport in the big eastern city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 1/16/15)
2015 Jan 17, Ukraine officials said fighting in the east has killed 3 soldiers, as an upsurge in clashes in recent days between the army and pro-Russian rebels centered around control of the battered Donetsk airport.
(AFP, 1/17/15)
2015 Jan 18, Ukrainian troops recaptured almost all the territory of Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine they had lost to separatists in recent weeks. Residents reported a sharp intensification of fighting. Thousands gathered in Kiev for a state-sponsored peace march.
(Reuters, 1/18/15)
2015 Jan 19, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian separatists renewed attacks on Ukrainian forces at the Donetsk airport complex. Ukrainian officials said 3 soldiers have been killed and 66 wounded over the past 24 hours. Ukraine's military claimed that some 700 Russian troops crossed into the country to aid rebels fighting for control of the country's east.
(AP, 1/19/15)(AFP, 1/19/15)
2015 Jan 20, In eastern Ukraine shelling in the Donetsk region killed at least 6 civilians, as fighting intensified between government and rebel forces.
(AP, 1/20/15)
2015 Jan 21, In four-way talks in Berlin involving Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France foreign ministers agreed a "demarcation line" between pro-Russian fighters and Kiev's forces from which withdrawal of heavy weapons could start. There were no details.
(Reuters, 1/22/15)
2015 Jan 21, In Switzerland Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko courted European support World Economic Forum in Davos against what he says are 9,000 Russian troops occupying 7 percent of his nation's territory.
(AP, 1/21/15)
2015 Jan 22, In eastern Ukraine an artillery shell or mortar struck a public transport stop in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk, killing at least 13 civilians in an incident both sides blamed on the other. 10 Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed overnight, six at the airport complex.
(Reuters, 1/22/15)(AP, 1/22/15)
2015 Jan 24, In eastern Ukraine at least 30 people were killed by shelling in the port city of Mariupol. A rebel leader said separatists were launching an offensive on the city.
(Reuters, 1/24/15)(AP, 1/24/15)(AP, 1/25/15)
2015 Jan 25, In eastern Ukraine Pro-Russian rebels launched new attacks against government positions. Western countries threatened more sanctions against Moscow for backing a new separatist offensive. President Petro Poroshenko said intercepted radio and telephone conversations prove that Russian-backed separatists were responsible for firing the rockets that pounded Mariupol and killed at least 30 people.
(Reuters, 1/25/15)(AP, 1/25/15)
2015 Jan 27, Ukraine said 9 servicemen have been killed in fighting Russian-backed separatists in the past 24 hours, as rebels fought to encircle Debaltseve, a key town straddling transport routes between their two strongholds.
(Reuters, 1/27/15)
2015 Jan 27, Ukraine's parliament approved a statement defining Russia as an "aggressor state", which deputies said could pave the way for consequences under international law, and called for more international aid and stronger sanctions on Russia. The Russian-backed separatist republics in the east were declared terrorist organizations formally eliminating the possibility of holding peace talks with their representatives.
(Reuters, 1/27/15)(SFC, 1/28/15, p.A6)
2015 Jan 27, EU finance ministers agreed to loan Ukraine 1.8 billion euros ($2.0 billion) to help save it from bankruptcy, leaving open the option of increasing aid at a later stage.
(Reuters, 1/27/15)
2015 Jan 28, Ukraine said 3 soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours in fighting in the east.
(AP, 1/28/15)
2015 Jan 29, In eastern Ukraine 5 government soldiers and 3 civilians were killed as a result of fighting in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 1/29/15)
2015 Jan 29, A Bosnian arms exporter threatened to sue government officials who are blocking a 5 million-euro deal his company has with Ukraine because of objections from Russia, which called on Bosnia not to supply Ukraine with weapons.
(AP, 1/29/15)
2015 Jan 29, The EU extended by six months an existing set of sanctions against Russia and pro-Russian separatist officials because of continued fighting in the Ukraine.
(SFC, 1/30/15, p.A7)
2015 Jan 30, In eastern Ukraine at least 24 people, mostly, civilians were reported killed on both sides in heavy fighting. An attempt to reopen peace talks in neighboring Belarus was aborted before it began. Kiev's military said 5 of its servicemen had been killed in fighting in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 1/30/15)(AFP, 1/30/15)
2015 Jan 31, Ukrainian former president Leonid Kuchma, a Russian diplomat and an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) official met at a state residence in the Belarussian capital Minsk for a new round of peace talks.
(Reuters, 1/31/15)
2015 Jan 31, In eastern Ukraine 12 civilians were killed by separatist artillery shelling of the town, which lies to the north-east of Donetsk. Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said 15 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 30 wounded in clashes across the east.
(Reuters, 1/31/15)
2015 Feb 1, In eastern Ukraine 13 government soldiers and at least as many civilians were killed in the past 24 hours in the separatist conflict after the collapse of peace talks in Belarus.
(Reuters, 2/1/15)
2015 Feb 2, In eastern Ukraine rebels pounded the positions of Ukrainian government troops holding Debaltseve, a strategic rail town, while both sides pressed ahead with mobilizing more forces for combat. Kiev's military said 5 more Ukrainian soldiers were killed in clashes. Municipal authorities in the big rebel-controlled city of Donetsk said 15 civilians were killed at the weekend by shelling.
(Reuters, 2/2/15)
2015 Feb 3, Ukraine said 5 more soldiers have been killed and 27 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the eastern regions in the past 24 hours. Fighting was particularly intense around the town of Debaltseve, a major rail and road junction northeast of the city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 2/3/15)
2015 Feb 4, In eastern Ukraine shelling at a hospital killed at least 5 people ahead of a visit to Kiev by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Rebel and government officials said 8 other civilians were killed in clashes around the region over the past 24 hours.
(AFP, 2/4/15)(AP, 2/4/15)
2015 Feb 4, The US ambassador to NATO said that Russian soldiers were present in eastern Ukraine in a command role and to operate advanced military equipment.
(Reuters, 2/4/15)
2015 Feb 5, Ukraine raised a key interest rate by a whopping 5.5 percentage points following a massive drop in its currency that has stoked concerns of runaway inflation.
(AP, 2/5/15)
2015 Feb 5, The leaders of Germany and France announced a new peace plan for Ukraine, planning to fly together to Kiev and Moscow with a proposal to resolve the conflict.
(Reuters, 2/5/15)
2015 Feb 6, In eastern Ukraine convoys of buses carrying many local residents to safety left the besieged town of Debaltseve as government forces kept up artillery fire to defend their positions against pro-Russian separatists.
(Reuters, 2/6/15)
2015 Feb 6, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine crisis.
(Reuters, 2/6/15)
2015 Feb 7, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko brandished in front of world leaders several passports taken from Russian soldiers in what he said was proof of Moscow's "presence" in his country.
(AFP, 2/7/15)
2015 Feb 7, Germany's Angela Merkel warned that sending arms to help Ukraine fight pro-Russian separatists would not solve the crisis there, drawing a sharp rebuke from a leading US senator who accused Berlin of turning its back on an ally in distress.
(Reuters, 2/7/15)
2015 Feb 7, NATO and Russia failed to narrow their differences over the Ukraine crisis in talks but agreed they would keep talking to each other.
(Reuters, 2/7/15)
2015 Feb 8, In eastern Ukraine intense fighting continued around the rail junction town of Debaltseve, with rebel fighters making repeated attempts to storm lines defended by government troops. The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France agreed to meet in Belarus on Feb 11 to try to broker a peace deal.
(Reuters, 2/8/15)
2015 Feb 9, The Ukraine military said At least 1,500 Russian troops and convoys of military hardware entered Ukraine over the weekend.
(AFP, 2/9/15)
2015 Feb 10, In eastern Ukraine rockets killed 7 civilians in Kramatorsk and rebels pushed on with an assault to cut off an army-held rail junction, setbacks that showed Kiev's position worsening on the eve of peace talks. 7 Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed and 23 wounded in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/10/15)
2015 Feb 11, Ukrainian forces battled pro-Russian rebels for territory on one of the bloodiest days in the 10-month war ahead of a pivotal peace summit on the conflict.
(AFP, 2/11/15)
2015 Feb 12, A Ukrainian military spokesman said around 50 tanks, 40 missile systems and 40 armored vehicles had crossed overnight into eastern Ukraine from Russia.
(Reuters, 2/12/15)
2015 Feb 12, Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine agreed a deal on that offers a "glimmer of hope" for an end to fighting in eastern Ukraine after marathon overnight talks in Belarus. The deal envisages a ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists starting on Feb 15, followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line and constitutional reform to give eastern Ukraine more autonomy.
(Reuters, 2/12/15)
2015 Feb 13, In eastern Ukraine fierce fighting surged as Russian-backed separatists mounted a major, sustained offensive to capture a strategic railway hub ahead of a weekend cease-fire deadline. At least 25 people were killed across the region.
(AP, 2/13/15)
2015 Feb 14, In eastern Ukraine fighting intensified ahead of a midnight ceasefire. Constant artillery bombardments were razing the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve, where Ukrainian forces were clinging on. Shelling killed at least one person in the rebel-held city of Donetsk. 7 Ukrainian service personnel were killed and 23 wounded in fighting in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/14/15)(AFP, 2/14/15)
2015 Feb 15, Ukraine's rebels disavowed a new truce hours after it took effect, saying it did not apply to the town of Debaltseve, where most fighting has taken place in recent weeks.
(Reuters, 2/15/15)
2015 Feb 16, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian rebels said they would open a safe corridor for as many as 7,000 Ukrainian troops out of the encircled town of Debaltseve on condition they surrender the territory, an offer the Kiev military promptly rejected.
(Reuters, 2/16/15)
2015 Feb 16, The European Union published a new sanctions list of individuals and entities. It added 9 more entities and 19 more individuals, including a Russian deputy minister of defense, for their actions linked to the fighting in eastern Ukraine. There was a week's lapse in the publishing of the list because of the negotiations which led to an agreement between Ukraine and Russia on Feb 12.
(AP, 2/16/15)
2015 Feb 16, The leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine said that observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) must have "free access" for their work in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/16/15)
2015 Feb 17, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russian rebels and government forces fought street-to-street in Debaltseve and refused to pull back their heavy guns, all but scuppering hopes that a European-brokered peace deal will end months of conflict. Rebels barred OSCE observers from entering Debaltseve.
(Reuters, 2/17/15)
2015 Feb 17, Canada imposed sanctions on Russia over its conduct in Ukraine, a move Moscow said would fuel further tension in Ukraine and prevent the implementation of the ceasefire.
(Reuters, 2/18/15)
2015 Feb 18, Ukraine government forces pulled out of Debaltseve after a fierce assault by Russian-backed separatists which Kiev and Europe said violated a crumbling ceasefire. Kiev reported that 22 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and more than 150 wounded in fighting with Russian-backed separatists in the railway junction of Debaltseve in the last few days.
(Reuters, 2/18/15)
2015 Feb 19, Fighting raged in eastern Ukraine despite European efforts to resurrect a still-born ceasefire, a day after pro-Russian separatists who spurned the truce forced thousands of government troops out Debaltseve. Ukraine said more than 90 troops were captured and 82 were still missing after pro-Russian rebels seized Debaltseve.
(Reuters, 2/19/15)(AFP, 2/19/15)
2015 Feb 19, A German government spokesman said Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed in a conference call with the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine to use his influence on separatists to start an agreed prisoner swap with Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/19/15)
2015 Feb 20, Ukraine accused Russia of sending more tanks and troops into eastern Ukraine and said they were heading towards the rebel-held town of Novoazovsk on the southern coast, expanding their presence on what could be the next key battlefront. Ukrainian military spokesman Anatoly Stelmach listed 49 attacks in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/20/15)
2015 Feb 20, Ukrainian Pres. Petro Poroshenko said that police evidence showed that a top Russian presidential aide, Vladislav Surkov, had directed "foreign sniper groups" who shot and killed protesters in Kiev a year ago.
(Reuters, 2/20/15)
2015 Feb 21, Ukraine government forces and rebels exchanged 139 government and 52 rebel prisoners, one of the first moves to implement the peace deal reached on Feb. 12 in the Belarussian capital Minsk.
(Reuters, 2/22/15)(SSFC, 2/22/15, p.A6)
2015 Feb 22, In eastern Ukraine pro-Moscow rebels said they would start to withdraw heavy weapons from the front line. The Kiev government said armored columns had crossed the border from Russia to reinforce the separatists. In Kharkiv 2 people were killed and 10 wounded when an explosive device was thrown from a car into a crowd attending a peace rally.
(Reuters, 2/22/15)(Reuters, 2/23/15)
2015 Feb 23, Ukraine's military said it could not start withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line in the east as required under a tenuous ceasefire because pro-Russian separatists who advanced last week were still attacking its positions. Ukraine's military said two of its soldiers had been killed and 10 wounded in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/23/15)
2015 Feb 24, In eastern Ukraine pro-Russia separatists said they had begun pulling heavy weapons from the front line under a ceasefire deal, but Ukraine said the rebels were using the cover of the truce to reinforce for another advance.
(Reuters, 2/24/15)
2015 Feb 24, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko said his country has signed an agreement to cooperate with the United Arab Emirates on military and technical issues as he kicked off a visit to the Western-allied Gulf nation.
(AP, 2/24/15)
2015 Feb 25, In eastern Ukraine a long-awaited truce took hold at last with the army reporting no combat fatalities for the first time in weeks, but the news did nothing to halt a currency collapse that forced the central bank to ban most trading.
(Reuters, 2/25/15)
2015 Feb 26, Ukrainian troops towed artillery away from the front line in the east, a move that amounted to recognizing that a ceasefire meant to take effect on Feb. 15 was holding at last.
(Reuters, 2/26/15)
2015 Feb 27, Ukraine continued to withdraw its weapons and announced the deaths of 3 servicemen in the past 24 hours, following two full days without fatalities.
(Reuters, 2/27/15)
2015 Feb 27, Spain arrested eight citizens who recently returned from fighting alongside pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine, the first such arrest in the European Union of foreign citizens involved in the conflict.
(Reuters, 2/27/15)
2015 Feb 28, Ukrainian photographer Serhiy Nikolayev died after artillery fire struck near the village of Pesky, northwest of the rebel-held city of Donetsk. Pres. Poroshenko informed US Vice President Joe Biden in a call of continued shelling around Donetsk and Mariupol by Russian-backed separatists.
(Reuters, 2/28/15)
2015 Feb 28, In Ukraine former deputy Mykhaylo Chechetov, a prominent lawmaker in Yanukovych's time, was found dead near his house in Kiev.
(AFP, 3/14/15)
2015 Mar 2, Ukraine's military said one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and four wounded in separatist eastern territories in the past 24 hours. But it warned that rebels were using the truce to regroup for new attacks on government positions.
(Reuters, 3/2/15)
2015 Mar 3, Ukraine's central bank sharply hiked its benchmark rate to 30 percent, from 19.5 percent, effective March 4 as financial authorities seek to reverse the rapid devaluation of the national currency.
(AP, 3/3/15)
2015 Mar 4, In eastern Ukraine 33 miners were killed after an early morning explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in Donetsk.
(Reuters, 3/4/15)(SFC, 3/5/15, p.A4)(AFP, 3/6/15)
2015 Mar 5, Ukraine said one government serviceman was killed and another wounded in fighting over the last 24 hours with pro-Russian separatists in the east. A military spokesman said rebels had attacked Ukrainian troops' positions or civilian targets 40 times within the previous 24 hours, including 17 artillery attacks. For their part, the rebels accuse Ukrainian forces almost daily of shelling and firing.
(Reuters, 3/5/15)
2015 Mar 5, American forces arrived in Ukraine to train government soldiers on use of overseas military equipment. As many as 300 US soldiers were expected to serve a seven-month training mission.
(SFC, 3/6/15, p.A3)
2015 Mar 8, Ukraine said one serviceman was killed by sniper fire and three wounded as a result of fighting in separatist eastern territories in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 3/8/15)
2015 Mar 10, In Ukraine former lawmaker Stanislav Melnyk, a member of deposed Pres. Yanukovych's Party of Regions, was found by his wife dead in his bathroom. He left a suicide note asking for forgiveness.
(AFP, 3/14/15)
2015 Mar 11, Sweden said it has offered Ukraine a bilateral loan of $100 million to help shore up its finances.
(Reuters, 3/11/15)
2015 Mar 11, The US placed sanctions on eight Ukrainian separatists and a Russian bank, warning that recent attacks by rebels armed by Russia violated a European-brokered ceasefire in the war-torn country.
(Reuters, 3/11/15)
2015 Mar 12, In Ukraine Oleksandr Peklushenko, a former ally of deposed Pres. Yanukovych targeted in a probe into the violent dispersal of the pro-Western rally in the city of Zaporizhia where he was governor last year, was found dead from a gunshot to the neck. Three recent deaths followed four suicides earlier this year of regional officials who were working under the old regime.
(AFP, 3/14/15)
2015 Mar 12, The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said it is to roughly double the size of its observer mission in eastern Ukraine to up to 1,000 personnel.
(AFP, 3/12/15)
2015 Mar 16, One Ukrainian serviceman was reported killed in fighting in the separatist-minded east of the country in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire deal. Residents in the eastern town of Kostyantynivka angrily confronted government police after an armored military vehicle struck and killed an 8-year-old girl.
(Reuters, 3/16/15)(AP, 3/17/15)
2015 Mar 17, Ukraine said 3 government servicemen were killed in fighting in the east in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire agreement with Russian-backed rebels.
(Reuters, 3/17/15)
2015 Mar 18, In eastern Ukraine a civilian was killed and one injured after tripping a bomb in Vuglegirsk, a separatist-controlled town 35 km (21 miles) north-east of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
(AFP, 3/21/15)
2015 Mar 19, Officials said around 30 British military personnel have arrived in Ukraine to provide medical and tactical training to the country's troops.
(AP, 3/19/15)
2015 Mar 20, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Turkey has offered a $50 million loan to Ukraine to help cover its budget deficit in a joint press conference in Kiev with Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey also offered Ukraine $10 million in humanitarian assistance.
(Reuters, 3/20/15)
2015 Mar 20, In eastern Ukraine one civilian was killed in an attack by pro-Russian separatist rebels in the government-controlled town of Avdiyivka despite a ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 3/20/15)
2015 Mar 21, In eastern Ukraine 2 government servicemen were reported killed in attacks by Russian-backed separatist rebels in the last 24 hours despite an agreed ceasefire.
(Reuters, 3/21/15)
2015 Mar 25, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko forced Igor Kolomoisky to step down as head of the key industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk, after a dispute over control of the main state oil and gas company ended up with armed men storming two office blocks in Kiev.
(AFP, 3/25/15)(Econ., 3/28/15, p.55)
2015 Mar 25, Ukraine arrested two top officials on graft charges at a televised cabinet meeting hours after the president sacked a powerful oligarch as regional governor. Police detained Sergiy Bochkovsky, director of Ukraine's state emergencies service, and his deputy Vasyl Stoyetsky, accusing them of "high-level" corruption.
(AFP, 3/26/15)
2015 Mar 27, Separatists in eastern Ukraine handed over the bodies of 22 government soldiers killed during the fierce, months-long battle over the airport near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
(AP, 3/27/15)
2015 Apr 1, Ukraine rejected Georgia's request for the extradition of its former president, Mikhail Saakashvili, who is facing a criminal probe at home.
(AP, 4/1/15)
2015 Apr 4, Ukraine reported that 3 government serviceman have been killed and two wounded in a landmine explosion in separatist eastern territories.
(Reuters, 4/4/15)
2015 Apr 5, In eastern Ukraine 6 soldiers were killed in two separate incidents as isolated clashes continue to violate a fragile ceasefire to end the year-long war.
(AFP, 4/5/15)
2015 Apr 6, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko publicly lifted his objections to a referendum that could give more powers to the restive regions engulfed in more than a year of warfare, reversing his government's previous position. Russia-backed separatists, however, dismissed Poroshenko's gesture as meaningless.
(AP, 4/6/15)
2015 Apr 9, The Ukraine parliament voted to ban all propaganda by the totalitarian Communist and Nazi regimes. 254 members of the 450-member parliament voted in favor of the legislation.
(AFP, 4/9/15)
2015 Apr 9, Amnesty International said that it has evidence that Russian-backed separatists in east Ukraine have killed several captured government soldiers in gross violation of international humanitarian law.
(AP, 4/9/15)
2015 Apr 10, Ukraine's military and pro-Russian rebels accused each other of intensifying attacks in separatist eastern territories despite a two-month-old ceasefire.
(Reuters, 4/10/15)
2015 Apr 10, In Ukraine masked men smashed communist-era monuments in Kharkiv overnight after the country's pro-Western parliament voted to purge the nation of Soviet symbols and its head of state compared today's Russia to Nazi Germany.
(AFP, 4/11/15)
2015 Apr 13, In eastern Ukraine 6 government servicemen were killed and 12 wounded despite a ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 4/14/15)
2015 Apr 14, In eastern Ukraine the Donetsk regional administration, which remains in government hands, said it had tracked 30-40 vehicles carrying "Russian military equipment" heading in the direction of Popasna, a town on the front line west of rebel-held Luhansk. A further 20 armored personnel carriers and 10 tanks arrived in Debaltseve. Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), said Ukraine had brought heavy weapons close to the city.
(Reuters, 4/14/15)
2015 Apr 14, Canada said it will send 200 military trainers to Ukraine. The training is to include explosive ordnance disposal, military police tactics, field medicine, flight safety and logistics.
(AFP, 4/14/15)
2015 Apr 15, Ukraine said one government soldier was killed and two wounded in separatist eastern territories in the past 24 hours. Separatist officials said one rebel fighter had been killed and five wounded as a result of attacks from the Ukrainian side in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 4/15/15)
2015 Apr 15, In Ukraine Oleh Kalashnikov, a lawmaker from ex-President Viktor Yanukovych's party, was found dead on the landing of his home in Kiev with a gunshot wound. Kalashnikov was a key witness in a criminal case related to pro-Russian activists who in early 2014 attacked the pro-Western protests on Kiev's main square.
(AP, 4/16/15)
2015 Apr 16, In Ukraine activist Oles Buzyna (45), known for his pro-Russian views, was gunned down in broad daylight in Kiev. Buzyna was a key witness in a criminal case related to pro-Russian activists who in early 2014 attacked the pro-Western protests on Kiev's main square.
(AP, 4/16/15)
2015 Apr 18, Ukraine's army chief of staff listed for the first time some of the specific Russian military units alleged to be fighting against Kiev alongside pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine. He named the Russian army's 15th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the 8th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the 331st Airborne Regiment and the 98th Airborne Division.
(AFP, 4/18/15)
2015 Apr 20, In Ukraine US paratroopers began training local government forces who will fight pro-Russian separatists in the east, angering Moscow as the deadly conflict rumbles on in the ex-Soviet country.
(AFP, 4/20/15)
2015 Apr 21, One Ukrainian serviceman was reported killed and one wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 4/21/15)
2015 Apr 22, Ukraine said it is ditching the Soviet name for World War Two and aims to adopt the poppy, a mainly British wartime symbol, to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. Kiev said it will also align its calendar with that of its European allies by adding for the first time May 8 - known in the West as Victory in Europe Day - as a national holiday.
(Reuters, 4/22/15)
2015 Apr 23, In Ukraine hundreds of coal workers marched through Kiev in a call for authorities to stop buying fuel from abroad and to guarantee a moratorium on mine closures.
(AP, 4/23/15)
2015 Apr 23, The United States accused Russia of building up its forces along the border with Ukraine, boosting air defense systems in the country and training Ukrainian rebels in the east.
(AFP, 4/23/15)
2015 Apr 24, Russia charged Ukrainian air force officer Nadia Savchenko (33) over the deaths of two Russian journalists in a politically charged case that has become emblematic of tensions between Kiev and Moscow.
(AFP, 4/24/15)
2015 Apr 25, In Ukraine government serviceman was killed and two were wounded in shelling attacks by pro-Russian separatists near the port of Mariupol.
(Reuters, 4/25/15)
2015 May 1, Ukraine said 2 government soldiers and one pro-Russian rebel have been killed over the past 24 hours in fighting in the country's war-torn east despite a shaky ceasefire.
(AFP, 5/1/15)
2015 May 3, Ukraine said one government soldier and a civilian were killed in the past 24 hours in in the separatist-held east amid a marked increase in fighting despite a fragile ceasefire.
(AFP, 5/3/15)
2015 May 4, Ukraine's army said two soldiers have died in renewed bouts of fighting in the east, where skirmishes between government and separatist forces are increasing and intensifying despite a February peace deal.
(AP, 5/4/15)
2015 May 4, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski approved a resolution that gave his formal consent to the establishment of a joint Polish-Lithuanian-Ukrainian military unit. The joint brigade will serve separately from the three countries’ military commands, but will participate in NATO, United Nations and European Union operations.
(Reuters, 5/4/15)
2015 May 6, Ukraine said that 5 government soldiers were killed over the last 24 hours as fresh clashes rumbled on despite the resumption of talks between the government and rebels over a battered truce deal.
(AFP, 5/6/15)
2015 May 12, Ukraine said 3 government servicemen were killed and one was wounded in separatist eastern territories over the past 24 hours despite a three-month-old ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 5/12/15)
2015 May 12, Russian opposition activists said least 220 Russian soldiers have been killed in east Ukraine in a report offering what they called "ample evidence" to rebut President Vladimir Putin's denial his troops are fighting there. The report, the last project of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, also said Russia had spent more than 53 billion rubles ($1.04 billion) in 10 months to fund the conflict and deprived people of 2.75 trillion rubles of money lost to inflation.
(Reuters, 5/12/15)
2015 May 16, Ukraine said a government soldier was killed and three were wounded in fighting between government forces and separatists in eastern Ukraine. Pro-Russian separatists in turn reported violations of the ceasefire by Ukrainian forces.
(AFP, 5/16/15)
2015 May 16, Ukraine's military detained two Russian servicemen. On May 18 Ukraine Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that Russia had tried to kill the two servicemen as the Kremlin reiterated that there were no regular Russian troops fighting in east Ukraine.
(Reuters, 5/18/15)
2015 May 19, Ukraine showed off two purported Russian soldiers it captured during a gun battle with separatist fighters in the industrial east of the war-wrecked state. Ukraine's media said Captain Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Sargent Aleksander Aleksandrov were both contract soldiers who had joined the army's main intelligence branch.
(AFP, 5/19/15)
2015 May 21, Ukraine lawmakers annulled five crucial security agreements with Moscow that allowed Russia to transport troops to a separatist region of Moldova and purchase weapons only produced in Ukraine. The deals were effectively suspended with the onset of the pro-Russian uprising in Ukraine's industrial east 13 months ago that Kiev blames the Kremlin for fomenting.
(AFP, 5/21/15)
2015 May 21, Ukraine said one government serviceman has been killed and eight wounded in fresh separatist attacks.
(AP, 5/21/15)
2015 May 22, Amnesty International accused Ukrainian forces of torture and pro-Russian rebels of even more serious war crimes such as summary executions committed both before and after a February truce deal.
(AFP, 5/22/15)
2015 May 23, In eastern Ukraine separatist commander Alexey Mozgovoy was killed along with 6 other fighters after their car came under attack near the town of Alchevsk.
(AFP, 5/23/15)
2015 May 26, In eastern Ukraine 4 pro-Russian rebels, a Ukrainian soldier and one civilian were killed in clashes that broke out over the past 24 hours in violation of a February truce deal.
(AFP, 5/26/15)
2015 May 28, President Vladimir Putin declared all deaths of Russian soldiers during special operations to be classified as a state secret, a move that comes as Moscow stands accused of sending soldiers to fight in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 5/28/15)
2015 May 29, Ukraine said one government serviceman has been killed and six others wounded in attacks by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 5/29/15)
2015 May 30, Ukraine Pres. President Petro Poroshenko appointed former Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili as governor of the troubled Odessa region.
(AP, 5/30/15)
2015 May 31, Georgia threatened to revoke pro-Western former president Mikheil Saakashvili's citizenship after he was granted a Ukrainian passport and appointed as governor of the strategic Odessa region.
(AFP, 6/1/15)
2015 Jun 1, Ukraine said at least 2 civilians and 3 Ukrainian troops have been killed in eastern Ukraine despite the ongoing cease-fire over the last 24 hours. The UN said that more than 6,400 people had been killed from the beginning of the conflict in mid-April 2014 to May 30, 2015.
(AP, 6/1/15)(AFP, 6/1/15)
2015 Jun 2, The Dutch Safety Board made a draft report on last year's crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 available to representatives of Malaysia, Ukraine, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands. It did not publicize details of the confidential draft.
(AP, 7/1/15)
2015 Jun 3, Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists fought their first serious battles in months. Ukraine's defense minister said an attempt by rebels to take the eastern town of Maryinka had been thwarted. 15 fighters and civilians were reported killed as a result of shelling on rebel territory.
(Reuters, 6/3/15)
2015 Jun 4, NATO said Russia was delivering sophisticated weaponry to rebels in eastern Ukraine, renewing long-standing accusations amid the worst upsurge in fighting in months between the Kiev government's forces and pro-Russian rebels.
(Reuters, 6/4/15)
2015 Jun 6, In Ukraine opponents of a gay rights march held in Kiev threw smoke bombs and tear gas. Police said five officers were injured as well as four of the estimated 300 marchers.
(AP, 6/6/15)
2015 Jun 6, The EU extended sanctions imposed on three people Ukraine suspects of having embezzled funds under former President Viktor Yanukovich. Asset freezes on ex-justice minister Olena Lukash, former education and science minister Dmytro Tabachnyk and Serhiy Klyuyev, the businessman brother of Yanukovich's former chief of staff, were to have expired today.
(Reuters, 6/6/15)
2015 Jun 7, In Ukraine a search and rescue operation began after a border patrol boat with a crew of seven sank off the port city of Mariupol following an explosion. One crew member was killed and five wounded. The government blamed a separatist-made bomb.
(Reuters, 6/7/15)(AP, 6/8/15)
2015 Jun 9, Ukraine said 8 government servicemen have been killed - seven of them in a single land mine blast - in the past 24 hours in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 6/9/15)
2015 Jun 9, Ukraine urgently evacuated hundreds of residents from the site of a series of fuel depot blasts near Kiev that set off a ferocious fire and left several people missing and at least one confirmed dead.
(AFP, 6/9/15)
2015 Jun 10, In Ukraine 3 civilians were killed in a mortar attack near Gorlivka, which is in separatist-held territory north of the regional city of Donetsk. 2 government soldiers were killed and 13 others wounded by separatists using heavy weapons in violation of a ceasefire agreed in February.
(Reuters, 6/11/15)
2015 Jun 12, Two of Ukraine's largest steel plants were in a critical situation and may have to cut production, after fighting in the separatist east severed gas supplies to the port city of Mariupol and two other towns.
(Reuters, 6/12/15)
2015 Jun 13, In eastern Ukraine 6 government servicemen were killed and 14 wounded in the past 24 hours, despite a four-month-old ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 6/13/15)
2015 Jun 14, Ukraine said one serviceman was killed and 21 were wounded in separatist attacks in the past 24 hours. Both sides accused the other of intensifying attacks despite a four-month-old ceasefire deal.
(Reuters, 6/14/15)
2015 Jun 15, In eastern Ukraine woman (77) and her daughter (45) died of gunshot wounds to the head after the soldiers entered their house in the government-held town of Luhanske and fired machine guns. Two Ukrainian soldiers, aged 23 and 25, were soon detained and confessed to the murder.
(Reuters, 6/17/15)
2015 Jun 16, Ukraine reported the death of two soldiers in advance of European-mediated talks with pro-Russian insurgents aimed at breaking a deadlock over the future status of eastern separatist enclaves.
(AFP, 6/16/15)
2015 Jun 22, The Ukrainian military said 2 government servicemen have been killed and three wounded in fresh separatist attacks in the east.
(Reuters, 6/22/15)
2015 Jul 1, The Russian gas company Gazprom halted supplies to neighboring Ukraine after the collapse of pricing talks. An EU official said the dispute would not affect the flow of Russian gas to Europe.
(AP, 7/1/15)
2015 Jul 10, In eastern Ukraine an unidentified gunman shot and killed 3 postal workers as they were transporting money, escaping with the equivalent of $115,000 in the government-held city of Kharkiv.
(AP, 7/10/15)
2015 Jul 11, In western Ukraine at least 2 people were killed in a gun and grenade attack in Mukhachevo involving the country's notorious nationalist militia Right Sector.
(AP, 7/11/15)
2015 Jul 14, In eastern Ukraine two rebel fighters were killed as well as one civilian.
(AP, 7/15/15)
2015 Jul 15, Ukraine said 8 government troops were killed and 16 wounded in the war-torn east over the last 24-hours.
(AP, 7/15/15)
2015 Jul 16, Ukraine's parliament gave preliminary approval to a bill that would devolve more powers to separatist-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine and sent it for review at the country's highest court.
(AP, 7/16/15)
2015 Jul 17, The Ukrainian parliament voted to call local elections across the country in October, but not in the rebel-occupied east.
(AP, 7/17/15)
2015 Jul 17, In Ukraine Maria Gaidar was appointed as deputy governor of Odessa, now led by former Georgian Pres. Mikhail Saakashvili. Gaidar (32), the only daughter of Russia’s 1992 reformist prime minister Yegor Gaidar, served as deputy governor in Russia's Kirov region in 2009-2011 and advised Moscow's deputy mayor in 2012-2013.
(AP, 7/20/15)
2015 Jul 18, Ukraine said 3 civilians have been killed by shelling by pro-Russian rebels in the separatist eastern regions. One government serviceman was also reported killed and four others wounded. Rebels said attacks in Donetsk had killed one civilian, destroyed buildings and started several fires.
(Reuters, 7/18/15)(Reuters, 7/19/15)
2015 Jul 19, The Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists accused each other of shelling residential districts of separatist-held Donetsk overnight, the first attack on central parts of the city since a February ceasefire agreement. The Ukrainian military said one serviceman had been killed and seven wounded in separatist attacks in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 7/19/15)
2015 Jul 23, In Poland a bus traveling from Ukraine to Warsaw crashed, killing 5 people and injuring more than two dozen others.
(AP, 7/23/15)
2015 Jul 25, Ukraine's border guards detained two people including a Russian officer who was driving a truck packed with weapons including rocket-propelled grenades at a checkpoint about 30 km (19 miles) south of Donetsk.
(AP, 7/26/15)
2015 Jul 29, Ukrainian Pres. Petro Poroshenko vowed to push for justice despite Russia's veto of a UN resolution that would have set up a tribunal to try those responsible for shooting down passenger flight MH17 on July 17, 2014.
(AFP, 7/29/15)
2015 Jul 30, Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists accused each other on of shelling civilian areas near the rebel-held city of Donetsk despite a ceasefire, with 4 civilians and one soldier killed.
(Reuters, 7/30/15)
2015 Jul 30, The United States imposed further Russia and Ukraine-related sanctions, adding associates of a billionaire Russian gas trader, Crimean port operators and former Ukrainian officials to its list of those it is penalizing in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 7/30/15)
2015 Jul, Brazil’s Pres. Dilma Rousseff scrapped an 11-year agreement with Ukraine to launch satellites aboard Ukrainian Cyclone-4 rockets from its Alcantara spaceport in Maranhao province.
(Econ, 8/8/15, p.29)
2015 Aug 3, Ukraine’s military said 4 servicemen have been killed and 15 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the past 24 hours just before talks on a ceasefire were due to start.
(Reuters, 8/3/15)
2015 Aug 4, Russia's PM Dmitry Medvedev ordered preparation of retaliatory measures against several non-EU European nations that have joined the European Union's sanctions against Russia. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine joined the EU sanctions last week.
(AP, 8/4/15)
2015 Aug 10, Ukraine’s military said 400 rebel fighters supported by tanks had attacked government forces around the village of Starohnativka, 50 km (30 miles) north of the Kiev-held port city of Mariupol. One servicemen was reported killed, one missing in action and 16 wounded in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 8/10/15)
2015 Aug 11, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said his nation is doubling the number of Ukrainian troops it will train this year to 2,000 in an effort to support Kiev in its fight against Russia-backed separatists.
(AP, 8/11/15)
2015 Aug 11, US federal prosecutors said group of Ukrainian hackers worked with securities traders in the US to make $30 million by breaking into the computers of companies that put out corporate press releases and trading on the information before it was made public.
(AP, 8/11/15)
2015 Aug 15, Authorities in Ukrainian-controlled territory along the frontline said that shelling over the past day had killed 2 civilians and wounded 15 more.
(AFP, 8/15/15)
2015 Aug 15, In Ukraine masked men fired tear gas into a venue in Odessa where gay rights activists were to hold a forum after deciding against marching in defiance of a ban.
(AFP, 8/15/15)
2015 Aug 17, In eastern Ukraine Fighting flared between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels near the port of Mariupol and at rebel-held Horlivka overnight, killing at least 10 people including 2 Ukrainian soldiers over the last 24 hours.
(Reuters, 8/17/15)(AFP, 8/17/15)
2015 Aug 20, The Ukrainian military said 4 servicemen have been killed and 14 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 8/20/15)
2015 Aug 27, The Ukrainian government said it has reached a deal with its international bondholders to lighten its public debt burden, a crucial move that will help the country avoid default as it tries to cope with the devastating costs of war.
(AP, 8/27/15)
2015 Aug 27, Ukraine said 7 servicemen have been killed and 13 wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 8/27/15)
2015 Aug 29, The leaders of France, Germany and Russia backed a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine in a three-way phone call.
(Reuters, 8/29/15)
2015 Aug 31, In Ukraine a national guardsman was killed and nearly 90 others protecting the parliament were wounded by grenades hurled by protesters as deputies backed reforms to give more autonomy to rebel-held areas. By the next day 2 more guardsman died from wounds sustained in the violent protests.
(Reuters, 8/31/15)(Reuters, 9/1/15)
2015 Sep 1, In Ukraine a fragile truce between government forces and pro-Russian separatists appeared to be holding as both sides made a renewed effort to silence their guns and make the much-abused ceasefire work.
(Reuters, 9/1/15)
2015 Sep 2, In eastern Ukraine 2 civilians were killed undermining fresh efforts to end simmering violence as the EU agreed to extend sanctions against individuals deemed responsible for the conflict.
(AFP, 9/2/15)
2015 Sep 2, The World Health Organization (WHO) said officials have found two children stricken by a mutated polio virus in Ukraine, the country's first cases of the paralytic disease in nine years. Health officials had warned Ukraine was at high risk of a polio outbreak due to its low vaccination rates.
(AP, 9/2/15)
2015 Sep 10, The prime ministers of Slovakia and Ukraine condemned a recent deal to expand a pipeline that delivers natural gas directly from Russia to Germany. An agreement signed earlier this month between Russian giant Gazprom and energy companies from Western EU countries, including E.ON, OMV, Royal Dutch Shell and others, is meant to expand the current Nord Stream pipeline under the Baltic Sea that directly links Germany with Siberia's natural gas reserves.
(AP, 9/10/15)
2015 Sep 16, Ukraine’s Pres. Petro Poroshenko signed a decree late today enacting targeted measures against some 400 officials and 90 companies held responsible for Ukraine's bloody pro-Russian uprising and Moscow's annexation of Crimea last year. Dozens of foreign reporters were blacklisted.
(AFP, 9/17/15)
2015 Sep 16, Ukraine's parliament unanimously voted in favor of a recommendation for the United Nations to revoke Moscow's right to block Security Council resolutions in cases when "conflicts grow especially fierce".
(AFP, 9/17/15)
2015 Sep 23, In eastern Ukraine rebel leaders in Luhansk decided to expel the staff of the UN refugee agency along with other int’l. agencies.
(SFC, 9/26/15, p.A2)
2015 Sep 23, It was reported that Russia is planning a second major military base near the border with Ukraine, where NATO accuses Russian troops of helping pro-Moscow separatists fight Kiev's forces.
(Reuters, 9/23/15)
2015 Sep 25, Ukraine said it is banning flights by Russian airlines from Oct. 25 as part of a wave of sanctions against Russia over its support for separatists in the east of the country. PM Arseny Yatseniuk added that any Russian planes carrying military hardware or troops had also been banned from flying over Ukrainian territory. The government statement also forbade Ukrainian state companies from using Russian software, particularly from the Russian anti-virus giant Kaspersky Lab. Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said that Russia would be forced to take retaliatory measures.
(Reuters, 9/25/15)
2015 Sep 25, The UN refugee agency criticized Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine for shutting the door on international aid, while the rebels themselves said the ban was instituted to restore order.
(AP, 9/25/15)
2015 Oct 2, The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine met in Paris to consolidate a fragile peace in Ukraine. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said monitors have spotted a Russian mobile TOS-1 'Buratino' weapons system in rebel-held Ukraine this week.
(AFP, 10/2/15)(Reuters, 10/2/15)
2015 Oct 3, In Ukraine warring sides began withdrawing tanks and smaller weapons from a buffer zone in the war-torn east.
(AFP, 10/3/15)
2015 Oct 12, Russia’s Gazprom resumed gas supplies to Ukraine after receiving prepayment of $234 million from Kiev, assuaging European fears about a new energy crisis ahead of the winter heating season.
(AFP, 10/12/15)
2015 Oct 13, A Ukrainian soldier was killed and two were injured in eastern Ukraine in violation of a month-long ceasefire between government and rebel forces.
(AP, 10/14/15)
2015 Oct 13, The Dutch Safety Board concluded that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian-made Buk missile in its final report on the crash on July 17, 2014, that killed all 298 people on board, most of them Dutch.
(Reuters, 10/13/15)
2015 Oct 15, Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay were elected to the UN Security Council during an uncontested vote for the non-permanent seats.
(AFP, 10/15/15)
2015 Oct 17, The Ukrainian excursion boat Ivolga capsized in the Black Sea, killing 14 people. It was carrying twice as many passengers as allowed and was knocked over by a big wave.
(AP, 10/18/15)
2015 Oct 19, Gunmen kidnapped two Lithuanian and two Ukrainian sailors off southern Nigeria. The ship, flagged in the Comoro Islands, was attacked near Port Harcourt.
(http://tinyurl.com/oo7rmo9)
2015 Oct 23, In Ukraine pro-Russian insurgents in eastern separatist Donetsk region said they have banned Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and UN agencies.
(AFP, 10/24/15)
2015 Oct 25, Ukrainians voted in local elections that were seen as a test of the strength of President Petro Poroshenko's government and of the oligarchs accustomed to running regions of the country. The Mariupol vote was pushed back to next month "due to the improper preparation of election ballots.
(AP, 10/2515)(AFP, 10/2515)
2015 Oct 25, Direct flights between Russia and Ukraine stopped as a result of continuing tensions over Russia's annexation of Crimea and backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 10/2515)
2015 Oct 26, Ukraine's pro-Russian insurgents said they had expelled two ceasefire monitors from the separatist Lugansk region last week. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) denied the report. One soldier was killed when government positions came under fire from the direction of the Donetsk airport.
(AFP, 10/2615)(AP, 10/27/15)
2015 Oct 29, Ukrainian armed forces and pro-Russian insurgents exchanged 20 prisoners in a goodwill gesture designed to get peace talks aimed at ending the 18-month crisis back on track.
(AFP, 10/29/15)
2015 Oct 29, In Ukraine a series of blasts ripped through the military complex in government-controlled Svatove, a town around 100 km (62 miles) from the front line with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Luhansk region. 2 civilians were killed and the incident was being investigated as a "terrorist act."
(Reuters, 10/30/15)
2015 Nov 11, Ukraine said a soldier has been killed and five others wounded in separatist attacks in eastern Ukraine and that a rise in violence is threatening the region's delicate truce.
(AP, 11/11/15)
2015 Nov 12, Ukraine's parliament finally banned discrimination against gays in the workplace during a heated session on legislation that could open the door to visa-free travel to much of the EU in 2016.
(AFP, 11/12/15)
2015 Nov 13, A Ukrainian helicopter crashed in eastern Slovakia, killing 6 people.
(AP, 11/13/15)
2015 Nov 18, The Russian government said it has decided to introduce a ban on food imports from Ukraine starting from January 1 because Kiev joined Western sanctions over Moscow.
(Reuters, 11/18/15)
2015 Nov 21, An explosion in Ukraine's Kherson region bordering Crimea cut the two working power lines to the peninsula.
(AFP, 11/22/15)
2015 Nov 22, Crimea declared a state of emergency after its main electricity lines from Ukraine were blown up, leaving the Russian-annexed peninsula in darkness after the second such attack in as many days.
(AFP, 11/22/15)
2015 Nov 23, Ukraine ordered a halt to all delivery of goods to Crimea. PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk described the halt as temporary, but added that he had ordered the Cabinet to prepare a draft of a "concrete" halt of goods and services from Ukraine to Crimea.
(AP, 11/23/15)
2015 Nov 23, Pro-Ukrainian activists prevented repairs to sabotaged power lines leading to Crimea, keeping the Russian-annexed peninsula starved of electricity for a second day and tensions between Moscow and Kiev high.
(Reuters, 11/23/15)
2015 Nov 24, Power cuts in Crimea affected nearly 940,000 people as tensions raged between Kiev and Moscow over the annexed peninsula and Russia threatened to cut off gas supplies to Ukraine.
(AFP, 11/24/15)
2015 Nov 25, Russia's natural gas giant Gazprom said it would stop shipping fuel supplies to Ukraine because Kiev had failed to make the required pre-payments on time.
(AFP, 11/25/15)
2015 Nov 25, Ukraine decided to stop buying gas from Russia and closed its airspace to its giant eastern neighbor's airlines. The Ukrainian military said another soldier was killed in a new bout of clashes across the shattered war zone in the past 24 hours.
(AFP, 11/25/15)
2015 Nov 27, Ukraine said Russia has begun to restrict coal supplies, days after the Kremlin threatened to punish Kiev for a power blackout of Russian-annexed Crimea. Ukraine depends on coal to fulfil around 44 percent of its power needs.
(Reuters, 11/27/15)
2015 Dec 7, US Vice President Joe Biden assured Ukraine of continuing US support and announced the release of an additional $190 million in US aid to help support reforms.
(AP, 12/7/15)
2015 Dec 8, The administration in Ukraine's Kherson region said that Ukraine has restored electricity to the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula.
(AP, 12/8/15)
2015 Dec 16, President Vladimir Putin ordered his government to suspend Russia's free trade zone with Ukraine from Jan. 1, making good on Moscow's threats to Kiev which seeks closer ties with the European Union.
(Reuters, 12/16/15)
2015 Dec 16, Ukraine accused Russia of looting two of its oil rigs after Crimea-based oil and gas firm Chornomornaftogaz moved the equipment off the coast of the annexed peninsula into Russian waters.
(Reuters, 12/16/15)
2015 Dec 18, Ukraine PM Arseny Yatseniuk said the government has imposed a moratorium on the repayment of a $3 billion Eurobond held entirely by Russia, after Moscow refused to accept the terms of a restructuring of the debt.
(Reuters, 12/18/15)
2015 Dec 23, Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian rebels accused each other of violating a holiday ceasefire, just hours after it came into force.
(AFP, 12/23/15)
2015 Dec 27, Ukraine said at least 3 people were killed over the last 24 hours as government forces and pro-Russian separatists clashed in the first violation of a holiday truce.
(AFP, 12/27/15)
2015 Dec 31, Electricity from Ukraine to the Russia-annexed Crimean peninsula was cut again after the collapse of a power pylon.
(AP, 12/31/15)
2015 Dec 31, The Russian finance ministry said it will file a lawsuit against Ukraine after Kiev failed to repay a $3 billion Eurobond and $75 million of interest due today.
(Reuters, 1/1/16)
2015 Serhii Plokhy authored “The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine."
(Econ, 1/2/16, p.64)
2016 Jan 1, Ukraine's free-trade deal with the EU came into effect, coinciding with the start of Moscow's food embargo against Kiev that will force the impoverished former Soviet republic to revisit its economic model.
(AFP, 1/1/16)
2016 Jan 10, Two Ukrainian soldiers and two rebels were killed over the last 24 hours in eastern Ukraine, marking the first deaths this year in the war-torn region.
(AFP, 1/10/16)
2016 Jan 14, Ukraine said 25 people have died from swine flu since the start of the flu season.
(Reuters, 1/14/16)
2016 Jan 20, Ukraine ratcheted up its trade war with Russia in reprisal for Moscow's seeming efforts to slash its westward-leaning neighbor's economic ties with other former Soviet states. PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Kiev was adding 70 food and other products to its existing list of items Russia cannot sell in Ukraine.
(AFP, 1/20/16)
2016 Feb 10, In eastern Ukraine 4 civilians were killed when a minivan carrying them drove over a landmine as they waited to cross out of separatist-held territory.
(Reuters, 2/10/16)
2016 Feb 15, Ukraine PM Arseny Yatseniuk said Russian trucks have been banned from crossing its territory in response to a similar move by Moscow.
(Reuters, 2/15/16)
2016 Feb 16, In Ukraine PM Arseny Yatseniuk survived a no confidence motion, but the majority of Pres. Poroshenko's lawmakers voted against him.
(AP, 2/17/16)
2016 Feb 16, The Ukrainian military said 3 servicemen have been killed and seven wounded in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 2/16/16)
2016 Feb 17, In Ukraine the Fatherland faction, a junior ally in the Western-backed coalition, quit the government of PM Arseny Yatseniuk. Fatherland was led by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
(Reuters, 2/17/16)
2016 Feb 18, Ukraine sank deeper into political turmoil as the governing coalition lost its majority in parliament after a second faction bailed out. The move by Samopomich (Self Help), which held 26 seats in the 450-seat parliament, left the coalition partners with 217 votes.
(AP, 2/18/16)
2016 Feb 20, In Ukraine nationalist demonstrators attacked two offices of Russian banks in the capital amid observances of the second anniversary of the protests that brought down the Russia-friendly president.
(AP, 2/20/16)
2016 Feb 24, The Ukrainian military press office said that rebel groups fired 84 times on Ukrainian forces in a 24-hour period using 120-mm and 82-mm rocket launchers in violation of peace agreements.
(AP, 2/24/16)
2016 Feb 26, Ukraine's PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk hit out against President Petro Poroshenko and his camp, accusing them of undermining key reforms that are badly needed to overcome the ex-Soviet state's economic malaise.
(AFP, 2/26/16)
2016 Mar 1, Ukraine banned government officials from publicly criticizing the work of state institutions and their colleagues, after damaging disclosures last month that highlighted slow progress in fighting corruption.
(Reuters, 3/1/16)
2016 Mar 2, Ukrainian authorities said 3 soldiers have been killed and two wounded in the Donbas region in the country's east as their car exploded.
(AP, 3/2/16)
2016 Mar 2, Russia's state prosecutor demanded a 23-year prison sentence for Ukrainian pilot and lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko who is accused of killing two Russian journalists in war-torn Ukraine.
(AFP, 3/2/16)
2016 Mar 3, The Ukrainian government accused Russian-backed rebels of using large-caliber weapons despite a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine that required both sides to pull back those arms.
(AP, 3/3/16)
2016 Mar 3, Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who is standing trial over the killing of two Russian journalists in war-torn Ukraine, announced in court that she was going on hunger strike and would refuse both food and water.
(AFP, 3/3/16)
2016 Mar 6, In Ukraine about 2,000 people rallied on Independence Square in Kiev to demand that Russia release pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, with hundreds then marching to the Russian Embassy to vent their anger.
(AP, 3/6/16)
2016 Mar 8, Hundreds of angry Ukrainians picketed Moscow's embassy in Kiev as global calls grew for the release of Nadia Savchenko (34), a hunger-striking military helicopter pilot on trial in Russia.
(AFP, 3/8/16)(Econ, 3/12/16, p.50)
2016 Mar 9, Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who is on trial over the killing of two Russian journalists during the Ukraine conflict, vowed to press on with a hunger strike without water unless Russia releases her.
(AFP, 3/9/16)
2016 Mar 10, Nadezhda Savchenko, the Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia, agreed to take water but will continue a hunger strike following an appeal by Ukraine's president.
(AP, 3/10/16)
2016 Mar 10, European Union governments extended sanctions on Russians and Ukrainians targeted in 2014 over the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/10/16)
2016 Mar 18, The European Union called for more countries to impose sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula two years ago, but the Kremlin said Crimea was Russian land and its status non-negotiable.
(Reuters, 3/18/16)
2016 Mar 22, A Russian court sentenced Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko to 22 years in jail after finding her guilty of involvement in the killing of two Russian journalists during the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/22/16)
2016 Mar 25, Russian officials said the body of a lawyer representing one of two Russian servicemen on trial in Ukraine has been found buried in an abandoned farm south of Kiev. Two men have been detained in connection with his murder. Yuri Grabovsky was representing Alexander Alexandrov, a serviceman captured along with another Russian, Yevgeny Yerofeyev, last year in rebel-held eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 3/25/16)
2016 Mar 28, In Ukraine over 500 protesters gathered outside the administrative headquarters of the president to call for the resignation of Viktor Shokin, the country's general prosecutor, who they say, has failed to use the full power of his office to deal with endemic corruption.
(AP, 3/28/16)
2016 Mar 29, Ukraine's parliament sacked chief prosecutor Viktor Shokin over his alleged attempts to stall high-profile corruption investigations and cover up state graft.
(AFP, 3/29/16)
2016 Apr 6, Dutch voters went to the polls and rejected a key EU pact with Ukraine in a referendum triggered by grassroots eurosceptic groups and seen as a yardstick on ties with Brussels.
(AFP, 4/6/16)(Reuters, 4/7/16)
2016 Apr 9, Ukraine reported a sharp increase in attacks by Russia-backed separatists around the government-held town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, resulting in at least one civilian death. Rebels in eastern Ukraine reported increased shelling from government forces and the death of one of their fighters.
(AP, 4/9/16)
2016 Apr 10, Ukrainian PM Arseny Yatseniuk tendered his resignation, effective April 12, in a televised broadcast and signaled support for parliamentary speaker and presidential ally Volodymyr Groysman to take over his post.
(Reuters, 4/10/16)
2016 Apr 13, The Lithuanian government said it has blacklisted 46 Russian citizens involved in criminal prosecutions of several Ukrainians including the imprisoned pilot Nadezhda Savchenko.
(AP, 4/13/16)
2016 Apr 14, Ukraine's parliament appointed pro-Western speaker Volodymyr Groysman (38) as prime minister in a bid to end months of political gridlock and unlock vital aid to the war torn-state.
(AFP, 4/14/16)
2016 Apr 18, A Ukrainian court sentenced two Russian servicemen captured last year to 14 years each in prison after finding them guilty of terrorism and waging a war in eastern Ukraine. The ruling opened the door to a possible prisoner swap between the two countries.
(AP, 4/18/16)
2016 Apr 19, President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine has reached a deal with Russia to free a jailed Ukrainian pilot, suggesting that she will be swapped for two Russian servicemen jailed in Ukraine this week.
(AP, 4/19/16)
2016 Apr 21, European Union Commissioner Johannes Hahn said on a visit to Kiev that the new Ukrainian government must use its first 100 days in office to implement reforms needed to secure 600 million euros in new aid.
(Reuters, 4/21/16)
2016 Apr 24, The Ukrainian government said three troops have been killed in the volatile eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours. Heavy fighting forced an evacuation of workers repairing a gas main damaged by a previous attack.
(AP, 4/24/16)
2016 Apr 27, In eastern Ukraine at least five people including a pregnant woman were killed and more than 10 injured on the front line in the worst civilian loss of life there in months. The victims were spending the night in their cars at the checkpoint outside the village of Olenivka hoping to cross the line in the morning.
(AP, 4/27/16)
2016 Apr 29, Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in fresh fighting between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in the east even as a new truce took effect.
(AFP, 4/29/16)
2016 May 1, In eastern Ukraine 3 deaths were reported in fighting despite a recently brokered armistice for Orthodox Easter.
(AP, 5/1/16)
2016 May 9, An Australian law firm filed a compensation claim against Russia and President Vladimir Putin in the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of families of victims of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, shot down over Ukraine on July 17, 2014. The application names the Russian Federation and Putin as respondents and seeks $10 million in compensation per passenger.
(Reuters, 5/21/16)
2016 May 14, Ukraine's interior minister lambasted reporters who were accredited by pro-Russian rebels to cover fighting in the country's east, after their details were leaked by hackers.
(AFP, 5/14/16)
2016 May 15, Jubilant Ukrainians erupted in celebration after Jamala won the Eurovision Song Contest with a powerful tribute to her Tatar people's deportation from Russian-annexed Crimea in 1944.
(AFP, 5/15/16)
2016 May 24, Ukraine’s government said 7 soldiers have died from shelling in the war-torn east over the past 24 hours, the biggest casualty toll in a single day this year.
(AFP, 5/24/16)
2016 May 25, Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko (35) arrived home to scenes of jubilation after her release by Russia in a prisoner swap and she promptly offered to fight again for Kiev in its conflict with pro-Russian separatists. Russian State television showed Alexander Alexandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev, descending the steps of an aircraft at Moscow's Vnukovo airport after being handed over by Kiev.
(Reuters, 5/25/16)
2016 May 27, In Ukraine Nadezhda Savchenko (35), the pilot who returned to a hero's welcome after two years in Russian custody, declared she would run for president if that's what Ukrainians wanted.
(AP, 5/27/16)
2016 May 29, Ukraine’s military said 5 soldiers have been killed and four wounded in fresh clashes with pro-Russian separatists in the country's east over the last 24 hours.
(AFP, 5/29/16)
2016 May 29, In Ukraine 17 people died when an unlicensed home for elderly people caught fire in the village of Litochky in the early hours.
(AFP, 5/29/16)
2016 Jun 3, The UN accused both the Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian rebels of torturing fighters and their sympathisers captured in the separatist east.
(AFP, 6/3/16)
2016 Jun 7, Russia's gas monopolist Gazprom says it will resume selling gas to Ukraine, following an official request from Kiev.
(AP, 6/7/16)
2016 Jun 12, In Ukraine about 1,000 gay rights activists held the country’s first major gay pride march through central Kiev amid an unprecedented security operation in the ex-Soviet country where homophobia remains widespread.
(AFP, 6/12/16)(SFC, 6/13/16, p.A2)
2016 Jun 15, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg demanded that Russia withdraw its forces and military hardware from Ukraine, and halt its support for pro-Moscow separatists battling Kiev.
(AFP, 6/15/16)
2016 Jun 17, The EU rolled over for another year sanctions imposed to protest Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, which the bloc deems illegal.
(AFP, 6/17/16)
2016 Jun 29, In eastern Ukraine Wassyl Slipak, a former baritone opera singer, was killed by sniper fire. He had performed in French opera productions for nearly two decades before joining a volunteer battalion fighting Russian-backed rebels.
(SFC, 6/30/16, p.A2)
2016 Jul 6, In Ukraine several thousand trade union activists marched through the streets of Kiev to the country's parliament to protest an upcoming hike in utility prices.
(AP, 7/6/16)
2016 Jul 7, The US State Department said the US will provide nearly $23 million in additional humanitarian aid to help people affected by the crisis in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 7/7/16)
2016 Jul 19, Ukraine said 7 government troops were killed in the past 24 hours during fighting with pro-Russian separatists, making July the deadliest month for the Ukrainian military in nearly a year after a sharp increase in violence.
(Reuters, 7/19/16)
2016 Jul 20, Ukrainska Pravda journalist Pavel Sheremet (44) died in an explosion in Kiev as he got into his car to drive to work to anchor a talk show on a local radio station. The Belarusian-born Sheremet irked officials in Belarus and Russia before he moved to Ukraine, where he said there were fewer hurdles to independent reporting.
(AP, 7/20/16)
2016 Jul 24, Ukraine said six government soldiers were killed in the east by rebel separatists over the last 24 hours.
(SFC, 7/25/16, p.A2)
2016 Jul 25, Ukrainian nationalists blocked a religious procession from entering Kiev, calling the marchers "agents of Moscow" and pelting the believers who were carrying Orthodox icons and crosses with eggs. The nationalists claimed that the procession is a ruse to sow discord in Ukraine. Police the next day barred the procession from entering Kiev, after finding ammunition planted along the planned route.
(AP, 7/26/16)
2016 Jul 27, In Ukraine thousands of Russian Orthodox Christian pilgrims reached the center of Kiev and finished their procession to the city's most revered monastery after their march was disrupted a day earlier.
(AP, 7/27/16)
2016 Jul 27, Ukraine revoked a Soviet-era deal that allowed visa-free travel for North Koreans.
(Reuters, 8/31/16)
2016 Jul 28, In northern Ukraine three people died, including a NATO representative, in an explosion while a missile was being unloaded from a vehicle at a military installation.
(Reuters, 7/29/16)
2016 Aug 2, In Ukraine Nadiya Savchenko, the servicewoman-turned-lawmaker who spent two years in a Russian jail, announced a new hunger strike to speed up the release of other Ukrainian prisoners-of-war, accusing Pres. Poroshenko of ignoring their plight.
(Reuters, 8/2/16)
2016 Aug 3, A Ukrainian nationalist website published an email archive with copies of IDs and personal data of Ukrainian and international journalists.
(AP, 8/4/16)
2016 Aug 6, In eastern Ukraine Igor Plotnitsky, separatist leader of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, was wounded in a car bombing.
(AP, 8/6/16)
2016 Aug 7, Ukraine’s military said 3 soldiers have been killed and four others injured over the last 24 hours in fresh clashes between pro-Russian rebels and government forces in the war-scarred east.
(AFP, 8/7/16)
2016 Aug 10, Russia's Federal Security Service said it had thwarted two armed Ukrainian attempts over the weekend to get saboteurs into Crimea and dismantled a Ukrainian spy network inside the annexed peninsula. Ukraine denied the action.
(Reuters, 8/10/16)
2016 Aug 11, Ukraine's president ordered the army to be on combat alert on the country's de-facto border with Crimea and on the front line in eastern Ukraine following Moscow's accusations that Ukraine sent in "saboteurs" to carry out attacks in Crimea.
(AP, 8/11/16)
2016 Aug 21, Ukraine said Russian activist Roman Roslovtsev, better known for his walks across Red Square in a President Vladimir Putin mask, has requested political asylum in their country.
(AP, 8/22/16)
2016 Aug 22, Ukraine said it has launched a criminal investigation of 20 senior Russian officials, alleging their involvement in crimes against Ukraine's national security.
(CSM, 8/22/16)
2016 Sep 19, In Russia Yevgeny Zhilin (40), a prominent Ukrainian separatist figure, was fatally shot in the Gorki-2 neighborhood west of Moscow. Zhilin has been on Ukraine's wanted list since 2015.
(AP, 9/20/16)
2016 Sep 21, Representatives of Ukraine and separatist rebels agreed to pull back troops and weapons from several areas in eastern Ukraine. The agreement signed in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, applies to three specific areas and will be monitored by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
(AP, 9/21/16)
2016 Sep 28, A Dutch-led inquiry into the July 2014 downing of Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine said the Boeing 777 was shot down by a BUK missile system from an area in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, and that the system was brought in from Russia and then taken back there. Russian missile-maker Almaz-Antey said the BUK missile was fired from territory held by the Ukrainian army and the prosecutors' findings were not supported by technical evidence.
(AFP, 9/28/16)(Reuters, 9/28/16)
2016 Oct 1, Ukraine's army and pro-Russian separatists both announced the pull back of their troops from a small eastern city as agreed in a demilitarization accord signed last month.
(AFP, 10/1/16)
2016 Oct 16, In eastern Ukraine Arseny Pavlov (33), a prominent Russian separatist commander known as “Motorola," was assassinated in Donetsk. His allies accused the Ukrainian government forces of murdering him to try to destabilize an already fragile ceasefire. Four armed masked men claimed responsibility for the killing in a video uploaded to the Internet. They appeared alongside a flag belonging to a pro-Ukrainian neo-Nazi group.
(Reuters, 10/17/16)
2016 Oct 27, In eastern Ukraine six people died in clashes between government forces and pro-Russian insurgents, the highest death toll since international peace talks held 10 days ago.
(AFP, 10/28/16)
2016 Oct 30, Ukraine officials faced a deadline to upload details of their assets and income in 2015 to a publicly searchable database. Reuters calculations based on the declarations show that the 24 members of the Ukrainian cabinet together have nearly $7 million, just in cash. The average salary in the country is just over $200 per month.
(Reuters, 10/31/16)
2016 Nov 7, In Ukraine Mikhail Saakashvili, the former Georgian president who became governor of the Odessa region, announced that he is resigning in frustration at what he characterized as obstruction in efforts to root out corruption.
(AP, 11/7/16)
2016 Nov 17, European Union states agreed to waive visas for Ukrainians on short visits, but only after the bloc beefs up a mechanism to suspend visa-free agreements in an emergency.
(Reuters, 11/17/16)
2016 Nov 22, Ukraine's justice minister Pavlo Petrenko appointed law graduate Anna Kalynchuk (23) to lead a campaign to purge officials tainted by corruption of the ousted regime. Last week, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov appointed a 24-year old woman as deputy interior minister and was promptly accused of promoting his protégé, who attracted extra attention because of some nude photos of her posted online.
(AP, 11/23/16)
2016 Nov 25, In eastern Ukraine the Czech humanitarian organization Clovek v Tisni (People in Need, PIN) was banned from the Donetsk area by separatist authorities.
(Reuters, 11/27/16)
2016 Dec 3, In Ukraine five policemen were killed by friendly fire in a tragic accident in which officers mistook colleagues for burglars in the small town of Knyazychy. A gang of three burglars fled the scene but were detained as they travelled back to Kiev.
(AFP, 12/4/16)
2016 Dec 8, The European Union said it will allow Ukrainians and Georgians to visit the bloc without a visa after diplomats and lawmakers struck a deal to end an internal EU dispute that had been holding up the plan.
(Reuters, 12/8/16)
2016 Dec 14, A Dutch court ruled that a priceless collection of gold artifacts from Crimea that was on loan to a Dutch museum when Russia seized the peninsula must be returned to Ukraine and not Crimea.
(Reuters, 12/14/16)
2016 Dec 18, The Ukraine Cabinet agreed to move PrivatBank into full state ownership, following concerns over its stability in a move welcomed by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
(AP, 12/19/16)
2016 Dec 18, In Ukraine a power distribution station near Kiev unexpectedly switched off early today, leaving the northern part of the capital without electricity. The company's IT specialists soon found transmission data that had not been included in standard protocols, suggesting that external interference was the likeliest scenario.
(Reuters, 12/20/16)
2016 Dec 21, Ukraine officials said at least two Ukrainian troops have been killed in the past 24 hours in renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine. At least 7 Ukrainian troops have been killed in fighting since Dec 18 with dozens more injured and shell-shocked.
(AP, 12/21/16)
2016 Dec 23, A Ukrainian official said at least two Ukrainian troops have been killed and three injured in the past 24 hours in renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 12/23/16)
2016 Dec 24, Both the Ukrainian government and Russia-backed rebels in the east of the country said a new cease-fire that was to come into effect midnight last night has been violated.
(AP, 12/24/16)
2016 Dec 27, Ukrainian female combat pilot Nadya Savchenko, who served time in a Russian prison, launched her own opposition movement: RUNA, an acronym for the Movement of Ukraine's Active People. She said the movement would be transformed into a political party when the time was right. Ukraine's pro-Moscow insurgents released two women they had held captive thanks to the intervention of Nadya Savchenko.
(AFP, 12/27/16)
2017 Jan 2, Ukraine reported a one-third drop in its use of natural gas and general energy savings that will be cheered by its financial backers from the IMF.
(AFP, 1/2/17)
2017 Jan 6, Blizzards swept parts of Europe, causing at least nine deaths, closing roads and resulting in traffic accidents, travel delays and medical evacuations. In Poland, the cold was blamed for five deaths in 24 hours. Ukraine officials reported that four people had died from effects of the cold in the Lviv region near the Polish border.
(AP, 1/6/17)
2017 Jan 12, Human Rights Watch in an annual report accused the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists of holding dozens of civilians in arbitrary detention in Ukraine's industrial east, where fighting has killed more than 9,600 people since 2014.
(AP, 1/12/17)
2017 Jan 14, Ukrainian government forces and the pro-Russian separatist rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine accused each other of disrupting a fragile truce declared late December.
(AFP, 1/14/17)
2017 Jan 17, Ukraine said it has filed a case against Russia at the United Nations' highest court, accusing Moscow of illegally annexing Crimea and illicitly funding separatist rebel groups in eastern Ukraine. Kiev also is seeking compensation for deadly incidents including the 2014 shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
(AP, 1/17/17)
2017 Jan 29, Three Ukrainian servicemen were killed when pro-Russian rebels attacked government positions in Avdiyivka, cutting off power supplies to the eastern frontline town.
(Reuters, 1/29/17)
2017 Jan 30, In Ukraine a sudden surge in clashes between government forces and Russian-backed rebels killed at least six people despite a tattered truce in Ukraine's war-scarred east.
(AFP, 1/30/17)
2017 Jan 31, Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels were locked in fighting for a third straight day at a flashpoint town that left thousands shivering without power and sparked renewed EU concern about security in its backyard.
(AFP, 1/31/17)
2017 Feb 1, Ukraine government forces and Russian-backed separatists exchanged mortar and rocket fire for a 4th day around the flashpoint eastern town of Avdiivka that sits just north of the rebels' de facto capital Donetsk. The Ukrainian military said three of its soldiers had died overnight while the rebels said as many civilians had been killed. The bodies of seven soldiers killed in the fighting were brought to Kiev.
(AFP, 2/1/17)(Econ, 2/4/17, p.44)
2017 Feb 2, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko appealed for more global pressure against Russia on as Moscow-backed rebels and government forces clashed around a frontline town for a fifth day in a surge of fighting that has claimed a reported 21 lives.
(AFP, 2/2/17)
2017 Feb 3, Clashes between Ukrainian forces and Moscow-backed rebels left two more dead in the flashpoint town of Avdiivka and five others elsewhere in bloodshed that has prompted the US to condemn Russia's "aggressive" stance.
(AFP, 2/3/17)
2017 Feb 4, In Ukraine Lugansk People's Militia commander Oleg Anashchenko died when his automobile exploded. Militia spokesman Andrei Marochko accused Ukrainian special services of causing the explosion.
(AP, 2/4/17)
2017 Feb 5, Ukraine's military says two soldiers were wounded in fighting with rebels in the separatist east, but that artillery attacks were significantly lower after a week in which fighting surged.
(AP, 2/5/17)
2017 Feb 8, In eastern Ukraine Mikhail Tolstykh (36), the military chief of a self-proclaimed Russian-backed Donetsk republic, was blown up with a grenade launcher. Rebels blamed Ukrainian security services.
(AFP, 2/8/17)(Econ, 2/11/17, p.38)
2017 Feb 8, The Czech government said it has decided to double its quota for Ukrainian workers, due to an acute labor shortage as the economy continues to grow strongly.
(Reuters, 2/8/17)
2017 Feb 9, NATO alliance deputy head Rose Gottemoeller said all 28 member allies fully support Ukraine as it faces the worst upsurge in fighting against pro-Russian rebels in two years.
(AFP, 2/9/17)
2017 Feb 18, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after meeting with his Ukrainian, German and French counterparts in Munich that a Feb. 20 ceasefire between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists has been agreed.
(Reuters, 2/18/17)
2017 Feb 18, The Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an order for Russia to recognize passports and other documents issued by separatist rebel authorities in eastern Ukraine. Russian lawmaker, Vladimir Dzhabarov, said the measure does not formally recognize the rebel authorities as legitimate.
(AP, 2/18/17)
2017 Feb 20, Ukraine's military accused pro-Moscow rebels of breaking a new ceasefire deal barely hours after it came into effect, as Western powers warned Russia over its actions in the former Soviet state. One soldier was killed and another wounded in fighting in the country's separatist east despite the new truce that started at midnight.
(AFP, 2/20/17)
2017 Feb 21, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko called for new sanctions against Russia over its decision to recognize passports issued by separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine, while the Kremlin accused Ukraine of denying vital documents to people in the rebel regions.
(AP, 2/21/17)
2017 Feb 21, An Austrian court approved a US extradition request for Ukrainian oligarch Dymitro Firtash, suspected of paying millions of dollars in bribes to Indian officials.
(AP, 2/21/17)
2017 Feb 26, The United States called on Russia to "immediately" observe the ceasefire in Ukraine, accusing combined Russian and separatist forces of targeting international monitors.
(AFP, 2/26/17)
2017 Feb, In Ukraine a small group of irregulars and volunteers blocked railway traffic across the line of control halting freight between separatist territories and the rest of Ukraine. Pres. Poroshenko opposed the blockade but support for it soared and the government joined them imposing a trade and energy blockade on the occupied territories. separatists responded by seizing control of all the coal mines and steel and chemical plants owned by Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine richest oligarch.
(Econ 5/27/17, p.46)
2017 Mar 1, In Ukraine a fifth of a million phone users in the rebel-controlled eastern city of Donetsk were cut off from the rest of the country. Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine said they are taking over 40 factories and coal mines. They include those owned by tycoon Rinat Akhmetov, whose foundation has been the largest provider of humanitarian aid to a war-battered population.
(Reuters, 3/1/17)(AP, 3/1/17)
2017 Mar 2, In western Ukraine eight miners died when a methane gas explosion tore through a pit in the western Lviv region.
(AFP, 3/2/17)
2017 Mar 3, Ukrainian state agencies sought to detain Roman Nasirov, the head of the tax and customs service, over the alleged embezzlement of around $75 million - a potentially landmark case after patchy anti-graft efforts from the Western-backed authorities. Television footage from the previous evening showed an apparently unconscious Roman Nasirov being stretchered into an ambulance and taken to Kiev's Feofania hospital.
(Reuters, 3/3/17)
2017 Mar 3, In Ukraine dozens of sex workers and human rights campaigners gathered in Kiev demanding the legalization of prostitution in the post-Soviet state.
(AFP, 3/3/17)
2017 Mar 6, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister accused Russia of financing terrorism by shipping arms, ammunition and funds to separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine and of discriminating against non-Russians in the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
(SFC, 3/7/17, p.A2)
2017 Mar 7, A Ukraine judge ordered Roman Nasirov, the country’s top tax official, to be jailed or pay a hefty bail pending his trial for suspected embezzlement.
(Reuters, 3/7/17)
2017 Mar 11, Ukraine's army reported two soldiers killed in clashes with Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine over the last 24 hours. A rebel spokesman in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said that one of its fighters had been killed.
(AFP, 3/11/17)
2017 Mar 13, The EU said it has prolonged for six months until Sept. 15 a blacklist of Russian and Crimean individuals and firms accused of undermining Ukraine's integrity and independence.
(Reuters, 3/13/17)
2017 Mar 15, Ukraine's Security and Defence Council approved the suspension of all cargo traffic with separatist-held territory.
(Reuters, 3/15/17)
2017 Mar 16, The European Commission agreed to send Ukraine 600 million euros ($643.20 million) to help its finances, ending months of delays over EU conditions linked to the loan.
(Reuters, 3/16/17)
2017 Mar 16, European security watchdog OSCE prolonged its monitoring mission to Ukraine by one year until March 2018. The unarmed, civilian mission with more than 700 international observers seeks to reduce tensions and report on the situation on the ground.
(AP, 3/16/17)
2017 Mar 19, The IMF and Ukrainian authorities said the International Monetary Fund has postponed a decision to disburse more aid to Ukraine in order to assess the impact of an economic blockade Kiev imposed on separatist-held territory.
(Reuters, 3/19/17)
2017 Mar 22, Tensions between Russia and Ukraine spread to the May Eurovision Song Contest after Kiev banned Russian contestant Yuliya Samoilova (27) from entering the country over a past performance in Moscow-annexed Crimea.
(AFP, 3/22/17)
2017 Mar 23, In Ukraine former Russian parliamentarian Denis Voronenkov (45) was killed by an assailant who was armed with a pistol and later died in hospital after being shot in the chest and head by Voronenkov's bodyguard. Voronenkov was key witness in a treason case against former leader Viktor Yanukovich. Ukraine soon identified the assailant as Pavel Parshov (28) and said he had been trained in Russia by Russian security services.
(Reuters, 3/23/17)(AP, 3/24/17)
2017 Mar 23, In Ukraine fire and explosions caused the detonation of ammunition in several sites at a military base at in Balaklia in the Kharkiv region. One woman was found dead in a home that was hit by a shell. Ukraine suspected the Russian military or its separatist rebel proxies were responsible and cited a possible drone attack.
(AP, 3/23/17)(AP, 3/24/17)
2017 Mar 29, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) searched the offices of the central bank as part of an investigation into allegations that central bank officials abused their position to benefit third parties.
(Reuters, 3/29/17)
2017 Apr 1, Ukraine complained of "unprecedented and unacceptable" calls from the Eurovision Song Contest's organizers for it to lift an entry ban on Russia's contestant. Ukraine has barred Russia's 27-year-old singer Yulia Samoilova over illegally entering Moscow-annexed Crimea for a 2015 performance.
(AFP, 4/1/17)
2017 Apr 6, European lawmakers voted 521 to 75 to grant Ukrainians holding biometric passports the right to visit for up to 90 days for tourism, business or visiting relatives and friends.
(Reuters, 4/6/17)
2017 Apr 8, Prosecutors said 17 people have been detained in Moldova and Ukraine on suspicion of planning to kill Vladimir Plahotniuc, head of Moldova’s Democratic Party.
(SSFC, 4/9/17, p.A4)
2017 Apr 10, Ukraine's central bank governor, Valeria Gontareva, resigned, depriving the country of a tough reformer capable of taking on vested interests at a time when the economy is just recovering from a steep recession.
(AP, 4/9/17)
2017 Apr 19, Judges at the UN's highest court rejected a Ukrainian interim request to order Russia to stop supporting troops in the east of the country, saying its request did not meet legal requirements under an international terrorism treaty. The court ordered Russia to halt discrimination of ethnic Crimean Tartars.
(Reuters, 4/19/17)
2017 Apr 21, Ukrainian authorities detained former lawmaker Mykola Martynenko and Sergiy Pereloma, the deputy chief of state energy firm Naftogaz, in a case related to the embezzlement of $17.3 million through selling uranium concentrate at inflated prices.
(Reuters, 4/21/17)
2017 Apr 23, In eastern Ukraine an American member of the OSCE's arms monitoring mission died and two others were wounded after their vehicle was blown up by a mine in the separatist Luhansk region.
(AP, 4/23/17)(SFC, 4/24/17, p.A2)
2017 Apr 25, Ukraine cut electricity to parts of an eastern region controlled by pro-Russian separatists, citing unpaid debt - a step the Kremlin said amounted to a rejection by Kiev of breakaway territories.
(Reuters, 4/25/17)
2017 Apr 25, Russian officials announced they will begin supplying electricity to separatist-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine after the Ukrainian government cut off the power because of millions in unpaid bills.
(AP, 4/25/17)
2017 Apr 26, Three Ukrainian troops were killed and four wounded in eastern Ukraine in an apparent flare-up of fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatists.
(AP, 4/26/17)
2017 May 16, Ukraine imposed sanctions on Russia's largest internet group Yandex and other popular online firms, saying it wanted to guard against cyber-attacks, and the Kremlin threatened retaliation.
(Reuters, 5/16/17)
2017 May 29, Poland extradited Benjamin F. to Austria. He was suspected of war crimes after he allegedly killed civilians and enemy troops last year who had already surrendered while he was fighting on the side of Ukrainian forces.
(AP, 5/30/17)
2017 Jun 5, Natalya Sharina (59), the head of Russia's only state-run Ukrainian library, was convicted of inciting hatred against Russians in a case that she compared to a Stalin-era political show trial. Masked police arrested her in October 2015, confiscating books that the authorities called illegal anti-Russian propaganda.
(Reuters, 6/5/17)
2017 Jun 7, In Ukraine at least one soldier was killed and seven others were injured in an apparent uptick in fighting in the country's east.
(AP, 6/7/17)
2017 Jun 11, Ukrainians celebrated the first day of visa-free access to the European Union, with thousands crossing the border as President Petro Poroshenko proclaimed a dramatic "exit" from Moscow's grip.
(AFP, 6/11/17)
2017 Jun 12, Ukraine said seven soldiers have been killed in just three days in renewed fighting with pro-Russian rebels in the east of the country. This brought the death toll to 14 since the beginning of June.
(AFP, 6/12/17)
2017 Jun 18, In Ukraine more than two thousand people took part in Kiev's gay pride event amid a heavy police presence as nationalist protesters tried to halt the event and burned a rainbow flag.
(AFP, 6/18/17)
2017 Jun 20, The Trump administration announced that it has imposed sanctions on two Russian officials and three dozen other individuals and companies over Russian activities in the Ukraine. Soon after the announcement Pres. Trump met with Ukraine’s Pres. Petro Poroshenko.
(SFC, 6/21/17, p.A3)
2017 Jun 21, The Ukraine government said it has agreed to a new cease-fire with Russia-backed rebels in the war-torn east.
(SFC, 6/22/17, p.A2)
2017 Jun 24, In eastern Ukraine two rebel gunmen were killed in skirmishes with Ukrainian forces. One of the gunmen was a group commander and "professional Russian soldier," named as Captain Alexander Shcherbak. Four rebel militants were captured, including Viktor Ageyev a Russian citizen (22) and resident of the Altai region.
(AFP, 6/28/17)
2017 Jun 27, In Ukraine military intelligence Colonel Maksim Shapoval was killed by a car bomb in central Kiev.
(Reuters, 6/27/17)
2017 Jun 27, A major ransomware attack hit computers at Russia's biggest oil company, the country's banks, Ukraine's international airport as well as Danish global shipping firm A.P. Moller-Maersk. Germany's Metro said its wholesale stores in the Ukraine have been hit by a cyber-attack and the retailer was assessing the impact.
(Reuters, 6/27/17)
2017 Jun 27, A Swiss government information technology agency said ransomware known as Petya seems to have re-emerged to affect computer systems across Europe, causing issues primarily in Ukraine, Russia, England and India. In 2018 Britain blamed the Russian government for the NotPetya cyber-attack.
(Reuters, 6/27/17)(Econ 7/1/17, p.72)(SFC, 2/16/18, p.A4)
2017 Jun 28, A cyber-attack wreaked havoc around the globe, crippling thousands of computers, disrupting operations at ports from Mumbai to Los Angeles and halting production at a chocolate factory in Australia. ESET, a Slovakian company that sells products to shield computers from viruses, said 80 percent of the infections detected among its global customer base were in Ukraine, with Italy second hardest hit with about 10 percent. The malware seemed to be a variant of past campaigns, derived from code known as Eternal Blue believed to have been developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
(Reuters, 6/28/17)
2017 Jul 3, Ukraine said it is investigating the country’s M.E. Doc software company, accused of being patient zero in the June 28 global cyberepidemic. The company’s eponymous software is widely used by businesses across the country.
(SFC, 7/4/17, p.A2)
2017 Jul 9, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Russia that it must take the first steps to reduce tensions in eastern Ukraine and that American and European sanctions would remain in place until Moscow reversed course in the region.
(AP, 7/9/17)
2017 Jul 11, The EU formally approved a landmark cooperation accord with Ukraine meant to counter a hostile Russia ahead of a high-profile summit in Kiev.
(AFP, 7/11/17)
2017 Jul 13, European Union leaders pushed Ukraine to step up its battle against corruption after the 28-nation bloc agreed to ratify a landmark cooperation deal.
(AFP, 7/13/17)
2017 Jul 18, The presidents of Ukraine and Georgia agreed to work together to further their ambitions to join NATO and the European Union, in defiance of threats from former master Russia.
(AFP, 7/18/17)
2017 Jul 18, Separatists in eastern Ukraine proclaimed a new state, Malorossiya (Little Russia), that aspires to include not only the areas they control but also the rest of the country. But Russia, their chief backer, sought to play down the announcement, saying it was merely part of public discussion.
(AP, 7/18/17)
2017 Jul 19, Ukrainian President Petru Poroshenko said Ukraine and Georgia will coordinate their efforts to reclaim areas captured by pro-Russian separatists. Fresh clashes in east Ukraine left two soldiers dead in a spike in fighting as a key rebel leader announced he planned to create a new "state".
(AP, 7/19/17)(AFP, 7/19/17)
2017 Jul 21, In eastern Ukraine health activist Natalia Gurova struggled to manage a project in her insurgent-controlled home city of Lugansk handing out clean syringes and condoms to drug-users and sex workers who are most at risk from HIV and hepatitis.
(AFP, 7/21/17)
2017 Jul 23, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko demanded Russia's Vladimir Putin halt arms supplies to rebels as the leaders of France and Germany tried to revive a peace plan.
(Reuters, 7/24/17)
2017 Jul 26, Ukraine’s migration service said President Petro Poroshenko has stripped one-time ally Mikheil Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship, spelling the likely end of the former Georgian president's political aspirations in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 7/27/17)
2017 Aug 29, Ukrainian security said it barred two Spanish journalists last week from the country over their coverage of a conflict with eastern separatists - a move media groups decried as an attack on free speech. The State Security Service (SBU) said the reporters had produced stories alleging Ukrainian troops had shelled civilian areas, an account it said was false.
(Reuters, 8/29/17)
2017 Aug 30, Ukraine said Russian propagandist Anna Kurbatova will be forcibly returned to Russia. Kiev accused her of spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
(Reuters, 8/30/17)
2017 Sep 5, President Vladimir Putin said Russia will ask the UN Security Council to send peacekeepers to patrol the front line in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 9/5/17)
2017 Sep 10, Ukrainian authorities blocked a train in Poland carrying stateless former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili as the firebrand politician attempted to return to Ukraine to reclaim his citizenship there, stripped in 2016 by President Petro Poroshenko in a bitter row. Saakashvili lost his Georgian citizenship when he was granted a Ukrainian passport in 2015, as the country bans dual citizenship. Saakashvili decided to dismount the train and try to cross the border by bus.
(AFP, 9/10/17)(AP, 9/10/17)
2017 Sep 14, Ukraine welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin's declared openness to deployment of United Nations peacekeepers in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, but said Russian troops must not join such an operation.
(Reuters, 9/14/17)
2017 Sep 15, In Ukraine a fire swept through a children's camp in the Black Sea port of Odessa, killing two girls and leaving a third one missing.
(AFP, 9/16/17)
2017 Sep 25, Ukraine's president signed a controversial law on education, causing fury in Hungary which is threatening to block Ukraine's efforts to integrate with the EU. The law restructures Ukraine's education system and specifies that Ukrainian will be the main language used in schools, rolling back the option for lessons to be taught in other languages.
(AP, 9/26/17)
2017 Sep 27, Ukrainian authorities evacuated more than 30,000 people from the central Vinnytsia region after a huge arms depot storing missiles caught fire and exploded in what prosecutors said was a possible act of sabotage.
(AFP, 9/27/17)
2017 Sep 28, In Ukraine a Kiev court froze four rail assets of billionaire Igor Kolomoyskiy in a long-running corruption case that led to the state's eventual takeover of PrivatBank, Ukraine's largest private bank.
(AFP, 9/29/17)
2017 Sep 28, Ukraine's Commander in Chief Viktor Muzhenko said Russia has withdrawn only a few units from Belarus and had lied about how many of its soldiers were there in the first place. A Belarussian defense ministry spokesman later said the last train of Russian troops and equipment had left Belarus today.
(Reuters, 9/29/17)(Reuters, 9/30/17)
2017 Oct 5, Defense ministers from Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine authorized their two-year-old joint brigade to take part in international missions for the region's security.
(AP, 10/5/17)
2017 Oct 6, The Ukrainian parliament passed hotly-disputed bills regarding the rebel-controlled eastern territories following debates interrupted by scuffles.
(AP, 10/6/17)
2017 Oct 9, Ukraine's chief prosecutor blamed Vladimir Tyurin, a Russian crime lord linked to Russia's security agency, for ordering the killing of renegade Russian lawmaker Denis Voronenkov last March.
(AP, 10/9/17)
2017 Oct 11, Ukraine's anti-corruption bureau said it had detained a deputy defense minister and another top military official for allegedly embezzling millions in state funding through an illegal oil-purchase scheme.
(AFP, 10/11/17)
2017 Oct 13, Romania’s foreign minister said Ukraine has pledged not to close Romanian language schools under a new education law that has caused alarm in Romania, Russia and Hungary.
(AP, 10/13/17)
2017 Oct 18, Hundreds of disgruntled Ukrainian activists gathered in a tent camp outside parliament to demand a more forceful fight against government graft.
(AFP, 10/18/17)
2017 Oct 19, Ukrainian lawmakers voted through a long-delayed overhaul of the health system that the state's Western backers say will raise standards and tackle a culture of bribe-taking in surgeries and hospitals.
(Reuters, 10/19/17)
2017 Oct 19, Ukrainian lawmakers moved towards meeting one of the demands of anti-corruption protesters who have set up the first tent city in Kiev since the pro-EU revolt of 2014. Lawmakers agreed to push forward for Constitutional Court review a bill stripping parliament members of immunity from prosecution starting in 2020.
(AFP, 10/19/17)
2017 Oct 23, Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators raided the home and office of Odessa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov and his associates at the center of a politically charged embezzlement probe.
(AFP, 10/23/17)
2017 Oct 24, Cyber attacks hit Ukraine's Odessa airport and the metro system in Kiev. The Odessa airport said it had tightened security measures after being hit by a cyber attack, while the metro system in Kiev also reported a hack on its payment system.
(Reuters, 10/24/17)
2017 Oct 25, In Ukraine Radical Party member Igor Mosiychuk was walking out of its studio after giving an interview when an explosive device went off near a scooter parked on the street. Ukraine soon opened a "terror" probe after the lawmaker was wounded and two people killed in the bombing. His nationalist party called this assassination attempt linked to Russia.
(AFP, 10/26/17)
2017 Oct 25, Crimean Tatar activists Ilmi Umerov and Ahtem Chiygoz, who opposed to Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, were released from prison and flown to Turkey. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko thanked Turkey's president for helping broker the release.
(AP, 10/25/17)(Reuters, 10/27/17)
2017 Oct 27, Crimean Tatar activists Ilmi Umerov and Ahtem Chiygoz, released from Russian custody on Oct. 25, arrived in Ukraine said they would travel back to the annexed peninsula and campaign for the freedom of other political prisoners and the return of Crimea to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 10/27/17)
2017 Nov 20, In Ukraine Mikhail Saakashvili, former Georgian President, raised the pressure on Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, saying the country needs a new Cabinet and he's ready to lead it.
(AP, 11/20/17)
2017 Nov 20, Belarus's KGB state security service said it had uncovered a spy ring working for the Ukrainian defence ministry that had been set up by a detained Ukrainian radio correspondent. Minsk-based journalist Pavlo Sharoyko was arrested in October and charged with being an undercover intelligence officer. The Ukrainian defence ministry denied the allegations against Sharoyko who it said had worked as a spokesman for the ministry before switching to journalism in 2009.
(Reuters, 11/20/17)
2017 Nov 22, In eastern Ukraine dozens of armed men occupied the center of Luhansk city blocking entrances to several government buildings during a standoff between two top officials in the separatist enclave. A day earlier the interior minister refused to step down after being dismissed by the prime minister for what was called illegal activity.
(SFC, 11/22/17, p.A2)
2017 Nov 24, Ukraine said five of its soldiers had died during fighting in the east over the last 24 hours, as it accused Russia of ramping up its military presence in the region amid squabbles among warring rebel factions. Eight rebels were reported killed and another nine wounded.
(AFP, 11/24/17)
2017 Nov 24, The EU pledged to deepen ties with six former Soviet states (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus), as part of efforts to counter Russian influence, but warned them they had no chance of joining the bloc any time soon.
(AP, 11/24/17)
2017 Nov 24, In eastern Ukraine the region's news agency said Igor Plotnitsky, the leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, has resigned following a week of tensions between rival factions.
(AP, 11/24/17)
2017 Nov 30, The Kiev-based Ukrainian Orthodox Church released a November 16 letter to Patriarch Kirill after Russian media said Ukraine’s head Patriarch Filaret had asked Moscow for "forgiveness," a claim it denied.
(AFP, 12/1/17)
2017 Dec 1, Ukraine head Patriarch Filaret said the Ukrainian Orthodox Church will never return to Russia's fold, accusing Moscow of "lying."
(AFP, 12/1/17)
2017 Dec 3, In Ukraine anti-corruption campaigner Mikheil Saakashvili urged Ukrainians to set up a protest camp in Kiev's main square if parliament fails to adopt a law on presidential impeachment within a week.
(AP, 12/3/17)
2017 Dec 5, Ukrainian authorities accused former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili of plotting a coup sponsored by Russia and attempted to arrest him. Supporters of Saakashvili freed him from a police van after his detention on suspicion of assisting a criminal organization led to clashes with police in Kiev. He then led protesters towards parliament, where he called defiantly for President Petro Poroshenko to be removed from office.
(AFP, 12/5/17)(Reuters, 12/5/17)
2017 Dec 6, In Ukraine sixteen people were injured in clashes in central Kiev as police sought to arrest ex-Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili, a staunch foe of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
(AFP, 12/6/17)
2017 Dec 10, In Ukraine several thousand people marched through central Kiev to protest against the detention of opposition figure Mikheil Saakashvili and call for the impeachment of President Petro Poroshenko.
(Reuters, 12/10/17)
2017 Dec 14, The EU extended sanctions against Russia because of the stalled peace process in the Ukraine.
(SFC, 12/15/17, p.A2)
2017 Dec 17, In Ukraine about 5,000 supporters of opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili rallied in Kiev, pushing for the ouster of the nation's president and briefly attempting to seize a public building.
(AP, 12/17/17)
2017 Dec 18, The Russian foreign ministry said it was recalling officers serving at the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) in Ukraine, accusing the Ukrainian side of obstructing their work and limiting access to the front line.
(AP, 12/20/17)
2017 Dec 21, The Ukrainian parliament voted to withdraw a law on the creation of an anti-corruption court, paving the way for the submission of a new law more in line with demands from backers, including the International Monetary Fund.
(AP, 12/21/17)
2017 Dec 22, The US State Department said the United States would provide Ukraine with "enhanced defensive capabilities" as Kiev battles Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.
(Reuters, 12/23/17)
2017 Dec 25, Separatist leaders and a Ukrainian government representative said in televised comments that they would exchange prisoners on December 27.
(AP, 12/25/17)
2017 Dec 27, Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels swapped hundreds of prisoners in the war-torn east of Ukraine, one of the largest such exchanges since the outbreak of an insurgency almost four years ago. The Ukrainian army reported the death of one soldier in the renewed fighting, the first casualty after the latest Christmas ceasefire came in force on December 23.
(AFP, 12/27/17)
2017 Dec 29, In Ukraine lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska went missing. Her body was found in a river on Jan. 1. She had mounted a campaign to make sure the man convicted of running down her sister with his car remained in prison. The man is a relative of a prominent Kiev judge.
(AP, 1/2/18)
2017 Dec 30, In Ukraine a man believed to be strapped with explosives took nine adults and two children hostage in a post office in the city of Kharkiv. Police soon freed the remaining hostages, and arrested the hostage taker after an hours-long standoff.
(Reuters, 12/30/17)
2017 About 8% of Ukraine’s land was reported contaminated.
(Econ 6/10/17, p.24)
2018 Jan 1, In Ukraine Iryna Nozdrovska's body was found in a river. Media reports said the 38-year-old lawyer had been stabbed repeatedly. On Jan. 8 a suspect was reported arrested in the case.
(AP, 1/8/18)
2018 Jan 11, In eastern Ukraine almost two million people lost their mobile phone access after Vodafone, the last major provider in the devastated region, suffered a fiber optic line cut. The outage meant families living on different sides of the front have lost the ability to communicate.
(AFP, 1/16/18)
2018 Jan 16, In Ukraine several hundred people rallied outside the Supreme Rada in Kiev to protest a new law governing the areas in the country's east under separatist control. they criticized the new law as being too lenient on separatist leaders.
(AP, 1/16/18)
2018 Jan 18, Ukraine's parliament passed a bill to reintegrate the country's eastern territories that are currently controlled by Russia-backed separatists, even supporting taking them back by military force if necessary.
(AP, 1/18/18)
2018 Jan 25, In central Ukraine an Mi-8 helicopter on a training mission crashed after hitting a cable supporting a TV tower. All four crew members on board died during the crash near the city of Kremenchuk.
(AP, 1/26/18)
2018 Feb 4, In Ukraine thousands of demonstrators, led by Mikheil Saakashvili, marched in Kiev to demand the resignation of President Petro Poroshenko.
(AP, 2/4/18)
2018 Feb 5, Ukrainian opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili said an appeals court has rejected his appeal for protection against possible extradition in a decision he said was politically motivated.
(Reuters, 2/5/18)
2018 Feb 12, A spokesman for Ukraine's border service said opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili has been deported to Poland.
(AP, 2/12/18)
2018 Feb 13, Ukrainian opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili said he would continue rallying people against the nation's authorities from abroad, following his deportation to Poland.
(AP, 2/13/18)
2018 Feb 14, Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili vowed to press on with his fight, as the stateless politician arrived in the Netherlands to join his family after being expelled from Ukraine.
(AFP, 2/14/18)
2018 Feb 20, It was reported that the European Union is shutting down a border checkpoint scheme with Ukraine. The 6 projects are now in the process of being closed, and the unspent money reimbursed. They foundered after a series of delays, missteps and cost overruns involving local officials and contractors.
(Reuters, 2/20/18)
2018 Mar 1, The Trump administration told Congress it plans to sell Ukraine 210 anti-tank missiles to help it defend its territory from Russia.
(SFC, 3/2/18, p.A2)
2018 Mar 2, In Moldova a one-day security conference was held in the capital, Chisinau. Pro-EU leaders from Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia said that the continued presence of Russian military in their countries was destabilizing.
(AP, 3/2/18)
2018 Mar 3, Ukrainian police and demonstrators clashed at a tent camp outside the parliament building in Kiev. Police said more than 100 people were detained and that explosives were found at the camp. Protesters have been demanding the establishment of a national an anti-corruption court and the ouster of Pres. Petro Poroshenko.
(AP, 3/3/18)
2018 Mar 3, Russia’s state natural gas monopoly Gazprom said it is beginning efforts to end its contract to supply gas to Ukraine, raising concerns about downstream gas supply to European countries. The move comes after the Stockholm international arbitration court ruled that Gazprom should pay Ukraine more than $2 billion for failure to deliver the agreed-upon volumes of so-called "transit gas".
(AP, 3/3/18)
2018 Mar 8, In Ukraine Volodymyr Ruban was apprehended at a frontline checkpoint with a collection of weapons, including machine guns and explosives. He had negotiated an exchange of prisoners in the eastern conflict zone. The next day President Petro Poroshenko said Ruban was part of a criminal network that had planned to destabilize Ukraine through violent attacks.
(Reuters, 3/9/18)
2018 Mar 12, Ukraine's intelligence agency said it has found weapons and explosives at the homes of suspected "agents of Russia".
(AP, 3/12/18)
2018 Mar 12, The European Union's foreign policy chief said the EU will extend a 1 billion-euro ($1.2 billion) loan to struggling Ukraine.
(AP, 3/12/18)
2018 Mar 12, The EU said it has prolonged sanctions against senior Russian officials, lawmakers and military officers for a further six months over alleged meddling in Ukraine.
(SFC, 3/13/18, p.A2)
2018 Mar 14, The Ukrainian government ordered its athletes not to take part in any competitions held in Russia, which the country accuses of occupying its territory.
(AP, 3/14/18)
2018 Mar 16, Ukraine said Russians living in Ukraine will be unable to vote in Russia's presidential election because access to Moscow's diplomatic missions will be blocked.
(AFP, 3/16/18)
2018 Mar 22, The Ukrainian parliament stripped celebrated former military pilot and presidential hopeful Nadiya Savchenko of her immunity as a lawmaker, sanctioning her arrest on charges of plotting an attack on parliament with grenades and automatic weapons. Savchenko said she was aware of being wiretapped, and that she talked about the attacks as a "surrealist political provocation" to mock the government.
(AP, 3/22/18)
2018 Mar 23, Ukrainian lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko began a hunger strike to protest her detention on charges of planning a coup against the government, less than two years after being welcomed home as a national hero.
(Reuters, 3/23/18)
2018 Mar 26, In Ukraine a Washington-backed body set up to vet judges as part of the battle against corruption quit its role, saying the process to screen a judge fit for office was a sham.
(Reuters, 3/26/18)
2018 Mar 26, Several EU countries and Ukraine said they are expelling Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of a former Russian double agent with military-grade nerve agent in the English town of Salisbury.
(Reuters, 3/26/18)
2018 Mar 26, Spanish authorities said police have captured a cybercrime gang made up of Ukrainians and Russians that allegedly stole more than $1.24 billion from financial institutions worldwide in a 5-year spree. Almost all of Russia's banks were said to have been targeted and about 50 of them had lost money.
(SFC, 3/27/18, p.A2)
2018 Mar 30, Russia ordered new cuts to the number of British envoys in the country, escalating a dispute with the West over the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain. Scores of foreign ambassadors streamed into the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow to receive the notices given to 23 nations: Albania, Australia, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine.
(AP, 3/30/18)
2018 Apr 10, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said sanctions will be imposed on Russian oligarchs including Oleg Deripaska, following the lead of penalties ordered by the United States.
(Reuters, 4/10/18)
2018 Apr 13, Ukraine's hard-line nationalists in Kiev vandalized a monument to Nikolai Vatutin, a Soviet Army general killed during WW II, and engaged in scuffles with army veterans and other opponents.
(AP, 4/13/18)
2018 May 1, Tennessee's Knox County held elections. Investigators later found evidence of a "malicious intrusion" into the county's elections website from a computer in Ukraine during a concerted cyberattack, which likely caused the site to crash just as it was reporting vote totals in this month's primary.
(AP, 5/11/18)
2018 May 15, Ukraine's security service raided the Kiev offices of Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency, detaining one journalist who was accused of treason.
(AFP, 5/15/18)
2018 May 15, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, driving a truck, unveiled the auto section of a new 11.8-mile, road-and-rail bridge linking Russia's Taman Peninsula to the annexed Crimea, defying Ukraine which said the move showed cynical disregard for international law.
(Reuters, 5/15/18)(SFC, 5/17/18, p.A2)
2018 May 17, Two Ukrainian soldiers killed in fighting in the separatist eastern region.
(AFP, 5/18/18)
2018 May 18, In Ukraine at least four people, including a child, were killed in the separatist east, as fighting intensified in the region.
(AFP, 5/18/18)
2018 May 30, In Ukraine Russian dissident journalist Arkady Babchenko, who was reported murdered in Kiev, dramatically reappeared alive and well in the middle of a briefing about the killing by the Ukrainian state security service. Ukraine admitted it had staged the murder of Babchenko in order to foil an attempt on his life by Russia.
(Reuters, 5/30/18)(AFP, 5/30/18)
2018 Jun 4, A Russian court sentenced a Ukrainian journalist, Roman Sushchenko (49), to 12 years in jail after convicting him of spying for his native Ukraine. Sushchenko was detained in 2016 after he flew into Moscow from Paris where he worked as a correspondent for Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform.
(Reuters, 6/4/18)
2018 Jun 6, Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk said he had been asked to support "political corruption" or to quit after PM Volodymyr Groysman formally asked parliament to sack him.
(Reuters, 6/6/18)
2018 Jun 7, Ukraine's parliament passed a law to create a special court to try corruption cases, a key step for the government to secure more Western aid needed to tame a rising sovereign debt burden.
(Reuters, 6/7/18)
2018 Jun 14, In Ukraine a pop-up "Corruption Park" opened in Kiev to highlight the scale of the problem with interactive exhibits and displays of ill-gotten gains including a $46,000 crystal falcon.
(AP, 6/18/18)
2018 Jun 17, In Ukraine several thousand gay pride supporters held a march in Kiev that lasted about 20 minutes despite opponents' attempts to block them. Kiev police detained 56 far-right activists who tried to disrupt the gay pride march.
(AP, 6/17/18)(AFP, 6/17/18)
2018 Jun 18, The EU said it has extended restrictions on doing business with companies or officials in Ukraine's Crimea region an d the city of Sevastopol for a year over Russia's annexation of the peninsula.
(SFC, 6/19/18, p.A2)
2018 Jun 23, In western Ukraine an attack on a Roma camp left one person dead and four others injured, including a 10-year-old boy on the outskirts of Lviv. Police soon arrested seven men aged 16 and 17 suspected of carrying out the attack and a 20-year-old man suspected of organizing it.
(AP, 6/25/18)
2018 Jun 28, Fighting in eastern Ukraine killed three Ukrainian servicemen.
(Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018 Jun 29, The Ukrainian military said four Ukrainian servicemen were killed and two were wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern conflict zone over the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 6/29/18)
2018 Jul 3, In Serbia Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with President Aleksandar Vucic in a bid to boost ties with the Balkan country, a key Russian ally in Europe, as both states seek to join the European Union.
(AP, 7/3/18)
2018 Jul 12, Ukraine's parliament approved an amendment to an anti-corruption court law in an effort to secure more funding under a $17.5 billion aid-for-reforms program from the International Monetary Fund.
(Reuters, 7/12/18)
2018 Jul 23, Oksana Shachko (31), one of the founders of the Femen feminist protest movement, was found dead in her Paris apartment with a suicide note next to her body. She was one of four feminist activists who founded Femen in Ukraine in 2008.
(AFP, 7/24/18)
2018 Jul 28, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko joined thousands on the streets of Kiev on an anniversary marking the start of the conversion of Ukrainians to Christianity, amid a push to remove what he says is a lever of Kremlin influence in Ukrainian affairs.
(Reuters, 7/28/18)
2018 Jul 31, The EU expanded its sanctions against Moscow to include companies that helped build a bridge from mainland Russia to Kremlin-annexed Crimea, which it says violates Ukraine's sovereignty.
(AFP, 7/31/18)
2018 Aug 2, The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said that more than 160 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine since the beginning of the year.
(AP, 8/3/18)
2018 Aug 7, The lawyer for Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, hunger striking in a Russian jail for nearly three months, said that the prisoner has lost 30 kg from his original weight of 100 kg, his heart rate has slowed and he has very low levels of red blood cells. The 42-year-old was serving a 20-year sentence in the far north of Russia after being convicted three years ago of arson attacks in his native Crimea following its annexation by Moscow. According to Kiev's estimates, Russia is currently holding around 70 Ukrainian political prisoners.
(AFP, 8/8/18)
2018 Aug 13, Poland used its powers as a European Union member to ban human rights Ukrainian activist Lyudmyla Kozlovska (32) from all 26 countries in Europe's Schengen area. Kozlovska was stopped at the Brussels Zaventem airport after arriving from Kiev, held overnight and put on an early flight back to Kiev the next morning. Belgian authorities acted after Poland entered her in the Schengen Information System, a database aimed at ensuring security in Europe's passport-free Schengen Area.
(AP, 8/20/18)
2018 Aug 15, Shipping industry sources said that some Russian shipowners not subject to sanctions have now stopped shipping to Ukraine for fear of losing their cargo. The Mekhanik Pogodin oil tanker, under the Russian flag, has detained in the port of Kherson since August 10, and prevented from offloading because its owner is on a list of sanctions imposed by Kiev.
(Reuters, 8/15/18)
2018 Aug 16, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said had it demanded a 15-year prison sentence for ousted ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, accused by Kiev of "betraying his nation" to Russia.
(AFP, 8/16/18)
2018 Aug 20, The UN's World Health Organization said the number of measles cases in Europe jumped to more than 41,000 during the first six months of 2018 and at least 37 people have died. Half, or some 23,000 cases, occurred in Ukraine.
(AP, 8/20/18)
2018 Aug 22, In Ukraine intense fighting killed four troops and injured seven in the east of the rebel-held Luhansk region. The defense ministry said the fighting erupted when the rebels began to shell government troops with mortars The rebels accused government troops of attacking them first.
(AP, 8/23/18)
2018 Aug 24, Ukraine marked 27 years of independence with its biggest ever military parade in central Kiev, as war continued against Russian-backed separatists in the country's east.
(AFP, 8/24/18)
2018 Aug 31, In Ukraine Alexander Zakharchenko (42), the chief of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, was killed in a bombing at a Donetsk cafe in broad daylight, becoming the four-year conflict's most prominent victim from the Moscow-backed side. His bodyguard also died and 12 more people were injured.
(AFP, 9/1/18)
2018 Sep 2, Tens of thousands of mourners gathered in Ukraine's rebel stronghold of Donetsk to pay their final respects to separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko, while an aide to the Russian president praised him as a "brother" and a "hero".
(AFP, 9/2/18)
2018 Sep 4, In the Ukraine Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (32) held talks with President Petro Poroshenko and afterward said "I speak not only as Chancellor but also as President of the EU Council, we need a clear reaction to the Russian aggression" in eastern Ukraine.
(AFP, 9/4/18)
2018 Sep 7, The Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate said it is sending two bishops to Ukraine "within the framework of the preparations for the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine." The patriarchate's leader is considered the "first among equals" of Eastern Orthodox clerics.
(AP, 9/8/18)
2018 Sep 8, The Russian Orthodox Church denounced a decision by Orthodox Christianity's leading body to send two envoys to Ukraine as a step toward declaring ecclesiastical independence for the church there.
(AP, 9/8/18)
2018 Sep 19, In Ukraine the legislature in the Lviv region voted to "impose a moratorium on the public broadcast and use of Russian-language content" until Russia withdraws all of its troops from Ukraine.
(AP, 9/19/18)
2018 Sep 29, In Ukraine three people were injured in an explosion in the rebel stronghold Donetsk, including a candidate for the post of the self-proclaimed republic's leader. The explosion happened near the local communist party's offices as the last participants of a party congress were leaving the building.
(AFP, 9/29/18)
2018 Oct 4, Ukraine said it had given a Hungarian consul 72 hours to leave the country after accusing his consulate of illegally issuing passports to members of an ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Ukraine's constitution bars Ukrainians from holding citizenship of other countries. Hungary in turn expelled a Ukrainian consul in Budapest and reiterated a threat to block Ukraine's EU and NATO integration.
(Reuters, 10/4/18)
2018 Oct 5, Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, jailed in Russia on terrorism charges, said he had been forced to end a prolonged hunger strike because prison authorities had told him they planned to force feed him.
(Reuters, 10/5/18)
2018 Oct 9, In northern Ukraine more than 12,000 people were evacuated after ammunition stored at an arms depot began exploding early today sparking a huge fire.
(AFP, 10/9/18)
2018 Oct 18, Ukraine's parliament voted to hand over a landmark Kiev church to the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate after it agreed to recognize the independence of Ukraine's Orthodox Church. The church will be transferred to Constantinople for its permanent use free of charge, but will still be the property of Ukraine.
(AFP, 10/18/18)
2018 Oct 18, The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said it had seen weapons being transported from Russia to rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine over the last week, contradicting Moscow's claim it is not arming separatists.
(AFP, 10/18/18)
2018 Oct 22, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, in a presidential decree posted on the Kremlin's website, instructed the government to draw up a list of Ukrainian firms and individuals to be targeted for economic sanctions.
(Reuters, 10/22/18)
2018 Oct 25, The EU awarded its top human rights prize to Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker imprisoned in Russia accused of plotting acts of terrorism, calling him a symbol of all political prisoners being held there.
(AP, 10/25/18)
2018 Nov 1, The Russian government published a list of 322 individuals and 68 companies in the Ukraine who will have their assets — if they have any — frozen, in a largely symbolic gesture in the ongoing conflict between the two countries.
(AP, 11/1/18)
2018 Nov 3, In Turkey Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and the Istanbul-based Orthodox patriarch signed an accord that paves the way for the recognition of an independent Ukrainian church, a plan that has infuriated Moscow.
(AFP, 11/3/18)
2018 Nov 4, In Ukraine Kateryna Gandzyuk (33), an adviser to the mayor of the southern city of Kherson and an outspoken critic of corruption in law enforcement agencies, died following an acid attack in July. In 2019 Vladyslav Manger, the head of the regional council in the southern region of Kherson, was accused of financing the crime.
(http://tinyurl.com/y5wkvl3h)(AP, 2/11/19)
2018 Nov 11, Residents of the eastern Ukraine regions controlled by Russia-backed separatist rebels voted for local governments in elections denounced by Kiev and the West. The Donetsk region's acting head Denis Pushilin, whose predecessor was killed in an explosion in August, was confirmed as leader with 61 percent of the vote while the acting chief of Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, also won with 68 percent.
(AP, 11/11/18)(Reuters, 11/12/18)
2018 Nov 13, Angry Ukrainians took to the streets and blocked roads as hundreds of thousands remain without heating at a time when temperatures are plunging because of a dispute between the national gas company and regional utility providers. Bills for hot water and heating were expected to increase by another 15% on December 1.
(AP, 11/13/18)
2018 Nov 14, Ukraine's PM Volodymyr Groisman accused local officials of causing a crisis that has left hundreds of thousands without heating in freezing weather.
(AP, 11/14/18)
2018 Nov 15, In Ukraine unknown assailants threw petrol bombs at a historic 18th century Orthodox church in Kiev and attacked a priest early today. The petrol bombs did not explode and no damage was done to St. Andrew's church. A church spokesman blamed Moscow for the incident.
(Reuters, 11/15/18)
2018 Nov 18, In Ukraine two activists were attacked with pepper-spray in Kiev during a transgender rights march that was interrupted by dozens of far-right protesters.
(AFP, 11/18/18)
2018 Nov 25, Russia stopped three Ukrainian navy vessels from entering the Sea of Azov via the Kerch Strait by placing a huge cargo ship beneath a Russian-controlled bridge, with officials from both countries accusing the other of provocative behavior. A bilateral treaty gives both countries the right to use the sea, which lies between them and is linked by the narrow Kerch Strait to the Black Sea. Russian coast guards opened fire on three Ukrainian ships near the Kerch Strait and then seized them. Three Ukrainian sailors were wounded and 24 were detained.
(Reuters, 11/25/18)(Reuters, 11/26/18)
2018 Nov 26, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko halved his proposal for martial law in the country to 30 days, an apparent concession to opponents, effective from 9 am on November 28.
(Reuters, 11/26/18)
2018 Nov 26, Ukraine's biggest state-run bank said an arbitration court in Paris has ruled that Russia must pay $1.3 billion in damages for property seized in the annexation of Crimea.
(AP, 11/26/18)
2018 Nov 27, Russia's TASS news agency reported that a court in Russian-annexed Crimea ordered the first of 24 Ukrainian navy sailors captured by Russia to be detained for two months.
(Reuters, 11/27/18)
2018 Nov 28, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed an act introducing martial law after Russia's seizure of three of Kiev's navy vessels sparked the worst crisis in years between the neighbors.
(AFP, 11/28/18)
2018 Nov 28, President Vladimir Putin insisted that Russian forces had the right to seize three Ukrainian ships at the weekend, as Kiev lashed out at Moscow for failing to release its sailors.
(AFP, 11/28/18)
2018 Nov 29, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of wanting to annex his entire country and called for NATO to deploy warships to a sea shared by the two nations. Ukrainian border guards said all non-Ukrainians will be barred from crossing into the Russia-occupied Crimean peninsula by land after martial law went into effect.
(Reuters, 11/29/18)(AP, 11/29/18)
2018 Nov 29, Ukraine's infrastructure minister, Volodymyr Omelyan, said two Ukrainian Azov Sea ports, Berdyansk and Mariupol, are effectively under blockade by Russia as vessels are being barred from leaving and entering.
(Reuters, 11/29/18)
2018 Nov 30, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said his country has received 500 million euros ($568 million) in assistance from the European Commission.
(Reuters, 11/30/18)
2018 Nov 30, Ukraine banned Russian men of combat age from entering the country, a move introduced under martial law after Russia fired on and captured three Ukrainian naval ships off Crimea last weekend.
(Reuters, 11/30/18)
2018 Nov 30, Ukraine's state security service raided the residence of a senior Russian-backed Orthodox priest, who heads one of the country's holiest sites, citing a clause in the criminal code relating to whipping up religious hatred. Metropolitan Pavel, heads the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine's most famous monasteries and a tourist site where mummified monks rest in labyrinthine underground caves.
(Reuters, 11/30/18)
2018 Nov 30, In Argentina Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly briefed his US counterpart Donald Trump on the Ukraine crisis as the leaders met briefly at a G20 summit dinner.
(AFP, 12/2/18)
2018 Dec 1, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said Russia is building up its land forces and weapons along the border as German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Russia not to block Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov.
(AP, 12/1/18)
2018 Dec 1, In Canada Oleksandr Gvozdyk (31) of Ukraine knocked out Canadian Adonis Stevenson with 13 seconds remaining in the 11th round to capture the World Boxing Council light heavyweight championship in Quebec City.
(AFP, 12/2/18)
2018 Dec 3, Ukraine's president announced a partial call-up of reservists for training amid tensions with Russia, saying that the country needs to beef up its defenses to counter the threat of a Russian invasion.
(AP, 12/3/18)
2018 Dec 3, Ukrainian police searched the homes of Russian Orthodox priests and Russian Orthodox churches in several cities, stepping up pressure as Kiev pushes for the creation of an independent Ukrainian church.
(AP, 12/3/18)
2018 Dec 4, Ukraine said it had resumed grain shipments from the Azov Sea, blocked for around 10 days after a military standoff with Russia in the Kerch Strait off Crimea.
(Reuters, 12/4/18)
2018 Dec 6, The Ukrainian parliament voted to withdraw from a wide-ranging treaty on friendship with Russia, the latest step in escalating tensions between the two neighbors.
(AP, 12/6/18)
2018 Dec 10, EU security commissioner Julian King alleged that Russia launched a year-long fake news campaign about Kiev's and NATO's plans for the Azov Sea before seizing three Ukrainian ships and their crew there.
(AFP, 12/10/18)
2018 Dec 10, The EU blacklisted nine locals involved in last month's rebel elections in east Ukraine, but was unlikely to heed swiftly Kiev's call for more reprisals against Moscow over the latest flare-up of tensions in the Azov Sea.
(Reuters, 12/10/18)
2018 Dec 15, Ukraine chose the leader of a new national church, marking an historic split from Russia which its leaders see as vital to the country's security and independence. President Petro Poroshenko said Metropolitan Epifaniy, of the Kiev Patriarchate church, had been chosen as head of the new church.
(Reuters, 12/15/18)
2018 Dec 15, A Ukrainian air force pilot died when his Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet crashed while attempting to land at a base in the northern region of Zhytomyr.
(AP, 12/15/18)
2018 Dec 15, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople welcomed the creation of an Orthodox church in Ukraine independent of Moscow and invited its leader to Istanbul to receive official confirmation of its status.
(AFP, 12/16/18)
2018 Dec 20, In Ukraine about 1,000 Orthodox believers rallied outside parliament to protest its demand that they change their church's name to reflect its ties to Moscow.
(AP, 12/20/18)
2018 Dec 21, The US State Department said the United States will provide an additional $10 million in military financing to Ukraine to bolster its navy after Russia captured three Ukrainian vessels at sea last month.
(Reuters, 12/22/18)
2018 Dec 22, Ukraine's president signed a bill that orders the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to change its name to reflect its ties to Moscow.
(AP, 12/22/18)
2018 Dec 26, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced an end to the 30-day martial law imposed after Russia seized Ukrainian ships in the Black Sea.
(AP, 12/26/18)
2018 Dec 26, Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported that a Russian court has sentenced Igor Kiyashko, a Ukrainian lawyer, to eight years in a maximum security prison for espionage and trying to illegally obtain and export military goods.
(Reuters, 12/26/18)
2018 President Donald Trump inquired how long Ukraine would be able to resist Russian aggression without US assistance during a meeting with donors that included the indicted associates of his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. A video of the meeting only emerged in 2020.
(AP, 1/25/20)
2019 Jan 5, The Istanbul-based Orthodox patriarch signed the formal decree confirming the creation of an independent Ukrainian church, marking a break with the Russian church that has angered Moscow.
(AFP, 1/5/19)
2019 Jan 15, Russia extended the detention of Ukrainian sailors captured together with their vessels off Crimea in November despite protests from Kiev and the West.
(AFP, 1/15/19)
2019 Jan 15, The US Securities and Exchange Commission charged two Ukrainian men, Artem Radchenko and Oleksandr Ieremenko, with hacking into computers of the SEC to steal quarterly and annual reports of publicly traded companies before their public release. The SEC also filed civil charges against Ieremenko and five others from the US, Ukraine and Russia.
(AP, 1/15/19)
2019 Jan 18, Russia said it has agreed for France and Germany to monitor shipping traffic in the Kerch Strait following a naval confrontation between Moscow and Kiev last year.
(AFP, 1/18/19)
2019 Jan 24, A Ukrainian court sentenced former president Viktor Yanukovich in absentia to 13 years in jail on treason charges, saying his conduct in office had opened the door to Russia's annexation of Crimea and conflict in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/24/19)
2019 Jan 25, The head of Ukraine's cyber police said hackers likely controlled by Russia are stepping up efforts to disrupt Ukraine's presidential election in March with cyber-attacks on electoral servers and personal computers of election staff.
(Reuters, 1/25/19)
2019 Feb 9, In Ukraine far-right activists tried to storm a police station in Kiev after forty others were detained at a campaign event for presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko. The activists were demanding justice in the killing of an anti-corruption activist.
(AP, 2/10/19)
2019 Feb 13, Authorities in Ukraine said eight people have died of measles since the start of the year. 53,000 confirmed measles cases were confirmed last year.
(SFC, 2/14/19, p.A2)
2019 Feb 19, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko signed a constitutional amendment committing to join NATO and the European Union, acknowledging that the nation still has a long way to go to meet the membership criteria.
(AP, 2/19/19)
2019 Feb 21, Ukraine's State Security Service SBU accused Russia of meddling in the electoral process in Ukraine by creating illegal structures to help guarantee victory for a certain candidate.
(Reuters, 2/21/19)
2019 Feb 23, In Ukraine a minibus hit a landmine while crossing the border at the breakaway Donetsk region, killing two civilians and injuring a third near the village of Yelenovka. The passengers were returning to the rebel-controlled region after collecting their pensions.
(Reuters, 2/23/19)
2019 Feb 26, It was reported that Ukraine's national broadcaster has dropped singer Anna Korsun (27), who was meant to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest, due to apparent political differences over Russia.
(Reuters, 2/26/19)
2019 Mar 5, In Kiev US Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch called on Ukrainian officials to fire the special anti-corruption prosecutor, Nazar Kholodnytsky, who has been accused of helping suspects avoid corruption charges. She also called for a complete audit of a state-owned military procurement company and greater transparency for defense contracts.
(AP, 3/6/19)
2019 Mar 7, Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko promised life imprisonment for anyone found guilty in alleged military corruption that reportedly includes incumbent Petro Poroshenko.
(AP, 3/7/19)
2019 Mar 12, Ukraine's security service said it has detained an Israeli man who heads a massive global drug trafficking network that markets illegal drugs through the internet.
(Reuters, 3/12/19)
2019 Mar 12, Israeli undercover officers broke up a drug-dealing network that used a popular messaging app and had connections in the United States, Ukraine and Germany. Police said the ring was headed by Amos Dov Silver, founder of the Israeli online drug marketplace Telegrass. Silver was arrested in Ukraine early today.
(AFP, 3/12/19)
2019 Mar 13, Ukraine defended its decision to deny entry to an Austrian journalist, claiming that Austria has been too friendly to Russia.
(AP, 3/13/19)
2019 Mar 15, The EU imposed sanctions on eight more Russian officials that it says were involved in the seizure by Russia of Ukrainian ships and crew in November.
(AP, 3/15/19)
2019 Mar 16, Police in the Ukrainian city of Poltava arrested 10 people as nationalist demonstrators attempted to interrupt a campaign appearance by President Petro Poroshenko. In Kiev about 3,000 nationalists demonstrated outside the presidential administration building, demanding arrests in an alleged embezzlement scheme in Ukraine's defense industries that allegedly involves figures close to Poroshenko and a factory controlled by him.
(AP, 3/16/19)
2019 Mar 20, Ukraine's Pres. Petro Poroshenko ordered new sanctions against Russian companies and individuals involved in construction and other activities in Crimea.
(SFC, 3/21/19, p.A2)
2019 Mar 22, A Russian court sentenced Pavlo Gryb (20), a Ukrainian teenager, to six years in prison for plotting a bombing in a Russian school. He was kidnapped in summer 2017 in Belarus where he had traveled to meet a girl he met online. He later surfaced in a Russian prison. The girl turned out to be an officer from the Russian intelligence services who was messaging him on her behalf shortly before his trip. Gryb's family said he suffers from cirrhosis of the liver and partial vision loss, urgently needs surgery and may die in a Russian prison.
(AP, 3/22/19)(AFP, 3/22/19)
2019 Mar 28, Ukraine's interior minister accused both Pres. Petro Poroshenko and former PM Yulia Tymoshenko of waging campaigns that involve bribing voters ahead of the March 31 presidential election.
(AP, 3/29/19)
2019 Mar 31, Voters in Ukraine cast ballots in a presidential election. Opinion polls have indicated that Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who stars in a TV sitcom about a teacher who becomes president after a video of him denouncing corruption goes viral, was leading a field of 39 candidates. Police say they have received more than 1,600 complaints about electoral violations in the presidential election. Zelenskiy took 30 percent support in the vote, while President Petro Poroshenko was a distant second with about 16 percent. The top two candidates advance to a runoff on April 21.
(AP, 3/31/19)(AP, 4/1/19)
2019 Mar 31, Ukraine police seized heroin worth about $60 million, over half a ton of the powder, in raids in the country's center and west, describing it as the biggest haul they had ever seen.
(AFP, 3/31/19)
2019 Apr 3, The Ukrainian PM Volodymyr Groysman said the government has banned state-run gas producer Naftogaz from raising consumer gas prices. The ban was announced as President Petro Poroshenko, a Groysman ally, tries to boost his chances ahead of the second and final round of a presidential election on April 21.
(Reuters, 4/3/19)
2019 Apr 4, Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko agreed to go head-to-head with comedian Volodymyr Zelensky in a debate at the country's biggest stadium in the race for the presidency.
(AFP, 4/4/19)
2019 Apr 5, Russia won a dispute about "national security" at the World Trade Organization, in a ruling over a Ukrainian transit dispute because it had invoked national security. The WTO ruling, the first ever on national security, can be appealed.
(Reuters, 4/5/19)
2019 Apr 11, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced the launch of a special court to try corruption cases, part of a flurry of activity to shore up his reform credentials ahead of a presidential election run-off next week.
(Reuters, 4/11/19)
2019 Apr 13, It was reported that a Ukraine-based hacker group has posted online the personal information of hundreds of US federal agents and police officers apparently stolen from websites affiliated with alumni of the FBI's National Academy.
(AP, 4/13/19)
2019 Apr 16, Ukrainian media called on comedian Volodymyr Zelensky (41) to answer their questions ahead of a weekend presidential election he is expected to win despite minimum engagement with mainstream outlets.
(AFP, 4/16/19)
2019 Apr 17, Ukraine's security service SBU said it had captured a Russian military intelligence hit squad responsible for the attempted murder of a Ukrainian military spy in the run-up to a presidential election on April 21. Two of the group's members were said to be Russian citizens, the other six were Ukrainians.
(Reuters, 4/17/19)
2019 Apr 18, A Ukrainian court ruled that the 2016 nationalization of Privatbank owned by tycoon Ihor Kolomoyskyi was illegal, sending shockwaves through the country's financial community. Kolomoyskyi, who now lives in Israel, is an archrival of incumbent President Poroshenko and is believed to have ties to Volomyr Zelenskiy, a comedian who has emerged as the favorite in the current presidential race.
(AP, 4/18/19)
2019 Apr 21, Ukrainians cast ballots in a presidential runoff. Opinion surveys ahead of the election showed President Petro Poroshenko (53) trailing far behind comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy (41). Zelenskiy won 73% of the vote compared to incumbent President Petro Poroshenko's 24%. Zelenskiy, a Russian speaker from central Ukraine, vowed to step up efforts to bring the east back under Kiev's wing, but offered no details on what that entailed.
(AP, 4/21/19)(AP, 4/22/19)
2019 Apr 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order simplifying the procedure for obtaining a Russian passport for residents of separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine, prompting an angry response from Kiev. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin denounced the Russian move.
(Reuters, 4/24/19)
2019 Apr 25, Ukraine's parliament approved a controversial law to enhance the status of the Ukrainian language at the expense of Russian. Russia slammed the move as "scandalous." The law was championed by outgoing President Petro Poroshenko.
(AFP, 4/25/19)(Reuters, 4/25/19)
2019 Apr 25, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was ready to restore full relations with Kiev, after a political novice won the Ukraine presidential election.
(AFP, 4/25/19)
2019 Apr 26, Separatist officials in rebel-held eastern Ukraine said a methane blast at a coal mine has killed at least four people and 13 others are believed to be missing. The death toll soon rose to 17.
(AP, 4/26/19)(SFC, 4/29/19, p.A2)
2019 May 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree fast-tracking Russian citizenship for more Ukrainians, a controversial new move expected to deepen the crisis between the two countries.
(AFP, 5/1/19)
2019 May 17, Ukraine's ruling parliamentary coalition collapsed in what represents a setback for the president-elect's plans to hold early elections.
(AP, 5/17/19)
2019 May 21, Ukraine’s new Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy formally ordered the parliament to dissolve, saying that it lacks public trust. He has called for electing the new parliament entirely on party lists, arguing the current election system foments corruption.
(AP, 5/22/19)
2019 May 22, Ukraine’s parliament speaker Andriy Parubiy told lawmakers that Pres. Zelenskiy's decree to call snap elections runs against the law. Parliament also declined to even discuss Zelenskiy's amendments aimed at making elections more transparent.
(AP, 5/22/19)
2019 May 25, A UN maritime tribunal ruled that Russia must immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels captured by Russia in November and also free the 24 sailors it detained.
(AP, 5/25/19)
2019 May 27, In Ukraine dozens of inmates in a prison rioted, set a fire and took guards and nurses hostage in an hours-long standoff in Odessa that left four guards injured.
(AP, 5/27/19)
2019 May 27, Russia rebuffed a call by an international maritime tribunal for it to release 24 Ukrainian sailors, saying the court had no jurisdiction over the strait where Russian security forces captured them on Nov. 25, 2018.
(Reuters, 5/27/19)
2019 May 28, Ukraine Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree that gave citizenship back to Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia.
(SFC, 5/29/19, p.A2)
2019 May 29, A Ukrainian Soviet-designed military helicopter Mi-8 crashed late today in western Ukraine, killing all four crew members.
(Reuters, 5/30/19)
2019 May 30, Ukrainian lawmakers refused to accept the Cabinet's resignation in another snub to the nation's newly sworn-in Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
(AP, 5/30/19)
2019 May 31, In Ukraine two patrol officers were drinking together in a yard in the city of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, 70 km (40 miles) southwest of Kiev. While shooting at metal cans they hit a boy, Kyrylo Tlyavov (5), who died on June 3. The two officers were soon arrested.
(AFP, 6/4/19)
2019 Jun 18, The United States announced a $250 million military aid package for war-torn Ukraine to strengthen the former Soviet republic's naval and land capabilities.
(AFP, 6/18/19)
2019 Jun 19, Dutch-led int'l. team charged three Russians (Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov) and one Ukrainian (Leonid Kharchenko) with murder over the 2014 shooting down of flight MH17 above rebel-held eastern Ukraine in which 298 people were killed.
(AFP, 6/19/19)
2019 Jun 20, Malaysian PM Mahathir Mohamad rejected the implication that Russia may have been involved in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, after international prosecutors charged with murder four men in the July 17, 2014, missile attack that killed all 298 people aboard.
(AP, 6/20/19)
2019 Jun 23, In Ukraine troops in military uniform joined more than 8,000 people marching in Kiev's Gay Pride parade amid tight security, the biggest ever annual celebration of diversity in ex-Soviet Ukraine.
(AFP, 6/23/19)
2019 Jun 25, The Council of Europe voted 118-62 to readmit Russia early today, five years after suspension over Crimea. The decision was supported by France and Germany as a way of keeping communication open at a time of East-West tension.
(Reuters, 6/25/19)
2019 Jun 25, Ukraine expressed anger at its Western partners after lawmakers at the Council of Europe agreed to allow Russian representatives back following a five year absence prompted by Moscow's annexation of Crimea.
(AFP, 6/25/19)
2019 Jul 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin had his first phone call with Ukraine's new president and discussions centered on the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has bitterly blighted relations between the two countries.
(AP, 7/12/19)
2019 Jul 17, Ukraine said a rebel who organized the trailer carrying the missile that shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 in 2014 had been captured two years ago and was now serving a sentence in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 7/17/19)
2019 Jul 18, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordered an overhaul of the process for granting Ukrainian citizenship, in response to a Russian decree expanding the number of Ukrainians who can apply for fast-track Russian passports.
(Reuters, 7/18/19)
2019 Jul 19, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in televised comments that Ukraine could release journalist Kirill Vyshinskiy, who has been in jail for a year on treason charges, if Russia releases film director Oleg Sentsov from a Russian prison colony. Sentsov is serving 20 years in a Russian prison for allegedly plotting acts of terrorism.
(AP, 7/19/19)
2019 Jul 21, Ukraine held snap general elections. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Servant of the People party won a commanding majority in the national parliament. SP took 43% of the party-list vote, giving the party 254 of the 424 MPs overall.
(Reuters, 7/21/19)(SFC, 7/24/19, p.A2)(Econ, 7/27/19, p.41)
2019 Jul 25, Ukraine seized a Russian tanker for its alleged involvement in the capture of three Ukrainian navy vessels by Russia. Ten crew members were soon freed and were on their way home, but the tanker remained in Ukrainian custody in the Danube river port of Izmail.
(Reuters, 7/25/19)
2019 Jul 25, President Donald Trump reportedly pressed the Ukrainian president in a telephone call to investigate former VP Joe Biden’s son. This information was only made public in September as part of a whistle-blower complaint.
(NY Times, 9/21/19)
2019 Jul 25, White House officials requested that aid to Ukraine be held within 90 minutes of President Donald Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. This was made public in December according to newly obtained documents.
(Good Morning America, 12/22/19)
2019 Aug 6, In Ukraine enemy shelling killed four Ukrainian soldiers in the eastern Donbass region.
(Reuters, 8/6/19)
2019 Aug 7, Ukraine's new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge him to help halt fighting in eastern Ukraine.
(AP, 8/7/19)
2019 Aug 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree offering citizenship to Russians suffering political persecution, and also to foreigners who fought on Kiev's side in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 8/13/19)
2019 Aug 17, In Ukraine a fire at the Tokyo Star hotel in the port city of Odessa killed eight people.
(SFC, 8/18/19, p.A4)
2019 Aug 22, Ukraine's president backed leading European powers in opposing the readmission of Russia to the Group of Seven advanced economies, saying Moscow still occupied Crimea and was frustrating peace in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 8/22/19)
2019 Aug 28, A court in Ukraine ordered the release from pre-trial detention of Russian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky, amid signs the two countries are preparing a wider exchange of detainees.
(AP, 8/28/19)
2019 Aug, A book by John Bolton, published in 2020, contains an account of Pres. Trump telling Bolton that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations of political rivals. The New York Times reported this on Jan. 26, 2020, with the matter at the heart of the articles of impeachment against Pres. Trump.
(NY Times, 1/28/20)
2019 Sep 7, A long-awaited swap of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine began with 70 people involved in the landmark exchange. They reportedly included the 24 Ukrainian sailors captured by Russia last year.
(The Telegraph, 9/7/19)
2019 Sep 11, Police in Ukraine raided the headquarters of PrivatBank, the country's largest lender, after a court allowed them to do so as part of a criminal investigation into whether some of its officials had overstepped their authority.
(Reuters, 9/11/19)
2019 Sep 27, In Ukraine Oleksandr Danylyuk, a popular reformer, resigned as head of the National Defense and Security Council. An International Monetary Fund mission left Kiev without the preliminary deal for $5 billion of funding that the government had sought.
(Bloomberg, 9/27/19)
2019 Sep 27, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau said it was investigating activity at Burisma, a gas company, between 2010-2012, but that it was not looking into changes to its board in 2014 when Hunter Biden joined. Hunter Biden was a director on Burisma's board from 2014 until at least 2018. Mykola Azarov, former prime minister 2010-2014, said Ukraine must investigate the activities of Joe Biden's son to establish whether his role in the gas company complied with the country's laws.
(Reuters, 9/27/19)
2019 Oct 1, Negotiators meeting in the Belarusian capital of Minsk agreed on a schedule under which elections will be held in the breakaway regions of Ukraine and a new law will be passed granting them special status. The plan was proposed by Frank-Walter Steinmeier when he was Germany’s foreign minister and is known as the Steinmeier formula.
(Bloomberg, 10/2/19)
2019 Oct 4, Ukraine's Prosecutor General said that his office is reviewing several cases related to the owner of a gas company where former Vice President Joe Biden's son sat on the board, as part of a review of all the criminal cases closed by his predecessors.
(AP, 10/4/19)
2019 Oct 6, In Ukraine about 10,000 people including former president Petro Poroshenko gathered in central Kiev to protest a plan for broader autonomy for separatist territories ahead of a high-stakes summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
(AFP, 10/6/19)
2019 Oct 9, A much-anticipated pullback of heavy weaponry in eastern Ukraine was derailed after both sides traded accusations of breaking the cease-fire.
(AP, 10/9/19)
2019 Oct 10, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky threatened to call off a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin if all sides do not agree on plans to pull out troops from the east.
(AP, 10/10/19)
2019 Oct 10, Ukraine's president insisted that he faced "no blackmail" from President Donald Trump in their phone call that led to an impeachment inquiry, distancing himself from the US political drama and trying to claw back his own credibility.
(AP, 10/10/19)
2019 Oct 11, Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch told House impeachment investigators that Pres. Trump had pressured the State Department to oust her from her post and get her out of the country.
(SFC, 10/12/19, p.A6)
2019 Oct 17, White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney told reporters that Trump's decision to withhold $391 million in aid to Ukraine was linked to his desire for an investigation by Kiev into a debunked theory that a Democratic National Committee (DNC) computer server was held in Ukraine. The comments, which he later sought to walk back, seemed to undermine the core arguments that Trump and his advisers have made against the effort to oust him from office.
(Reuters, 10/18/19)
2019 Oct 22, Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine said they had sentenced a journalist to 15 years in prison after a court found him guilty of spying on behalf of Ukraine's SBU intelligence service. Stanislav Aseyev (30) disappeared in Ukraine's Donetsk region in June 2017 where he was working under a pen name for the Ukrainian service of US-government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), among other outlets.
(Reuters, 10/22/19)
2019 Oct 23, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky urged a group of lawmakers to take lie detector tests to show they are not involved in a widening corruption scandal.
(SFC, 10/24/19, p.A2)
2019 Oct 24, Ukraine's central bank lowered its main interest rate for the fourth time this year to 15.5% from 16.5%, a steeper than expected cut, saying price pressures were easing more rapidly while economic growth was picking up.
(Reuters, 10/24/19)
2019 Oct 29, The Ukrainian army and Moscow-backed separatists said they had begun to withdraw their troops from a key area in the war-torn east ahead of a high-stakes summit with Russia.
(AFP, 10/29/19)
2019 Oct 30, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg welcomed a pullback by the Ukrainian army and Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, but reiterated calls for Russia to "withdraw all their troops".
(AFP, 10/30/19)
2019 Oct 31, Ukraine's parliament approved a bill that criminalizes state officials illegally enriching themselves. Ukraine had passed a law criminalizing illicit enrichment in 2015 but the constitutional court overturned the law in February.
(Reuters, 10/31/19)
2019 Oct 31, Ukraine and NATO issued a joint statement committing to uphold minority rights in Ukraine, a step welcomed by the Hungarian authorities who had threatened to block Kiev's NATO membership over the issue.
(Reuters, 10/31/19)
2019 Oct, In Ukraine Ruslan Zakharov had been shuttling people and goods across the front line for five years when he was stopped at a checkpoint leaving the separatist-held area and told he was a Ukrainian spy. He was tortured for three days at Izolyatsia and then transferred to a detention center ten days later where he began to recover. Victims of torture later sued both Russia and Ukraine at the European Court of Human Rights as their tormentors remained out of reach for Ukrainian law enforcement.
(The Telegraph, 6/6/21)
2019 Nov 4, Ukrainian soldiers and Moscow-backed separatists deferred the last phase of a troop pullback in war-torn eastern Ukraine at the 11th hour, delaying a high-stakes summit with Russia.
(AFP, 11/4/19)
2019 Nov 8, The United Nations' highest court ruled that it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Ukraine that alleges Russia breached treaties on terrorist financing and racial discrimination following its annexation of Crimea by arming rebels in eastern Ukraine and reining in the rights of ethnic Tartars and other minorities.
(AP, 11/8/19)
2019 Nov 9, Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels began withdrawing from a village in the disputed Donbass region, one of a series of measures that could pave the way for a summit between Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany.
(Reuters, 11/9/19)
2019 Nov 10, Poland released Ihor Mazur, a Ukrainian activist and veteran of the war in the country's east. He had been detained in Poland two days earlier based on an Interpol request issued by Russia. Mazur was on Russia's wanted list for reportedly participating in battles against Russian forces during the first war in Chechnya.
(AP, 11/10/19)
2019 Nov 11, It was reported that two political supporters of US Energy Secretary Rick Perry secured a potentially lucrative oil and gas exploration deal from the Ukrainian government earlier this year soon after Perry proposed one of the men as an adviser to the country's new president.
(AP, 11/11/19)
2019 Nov 11, It was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that Ukraine should give its separatist-led Donbass region a special status set out in Ukrainian law.
(Reuters, 11/11/19)
2019 Nov 13, Ukrainian lawmakers voted to remove a ban on the sale of farmland for the first time in nearly two decades, a move supported by the country's foreign backers that risks a political backlash.
(Reuters, 11/13/19)
2019 Nov 15, Ukraine's security service said it had detained Al Bara Shishani (aka Cezar Tokhosashvili), the deputy of Abu Omar al-Shishani, a man the Pentagon described as Islamic State's "minister of war." Al Bara Shishani, the former commander of the so-called Islamic State and deputy head of its intelligence operations, had crossed into Ukraine on a fake passport last year. He had been presumed dead for more than a year.
(AP, 11/15/19)(The Daily Beast, 12/29/19)
2019 Nov 17, Russian news said Russia will return three captured naval ships to Ukraine on Nov. 18 and is moving them to a handover location agreed with Kiev.
(Reuters, 11/17/19)
2019 Nov 18, Russia returned three Ukrainian naval ships that were seized by Russia nearly a year ago. The two gunboats and a tug were taken by the Russian coast guard on Nov. 25, 2018, as they maneuvered near the Kerch Strait that connects the Black Sea with the Azov Sea.
(AP, 11/18/19)
2019 Nov 20, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unveiled a rebuilt bridge that was blown up in Stanytsia Luhanska in 2015, among several confidence-building measures before a summit next month meant to end a conflict with Russian-backed separatist forces.
(Reuters, 11/20/19)
2019 Nov 21, Ukraine's navy said three Ukrainian navy boats seized by Russia a year ago were vandalized before being handed back to Ukraine. Ukraine's navy said the vessels had been stripped bare and left so badly damaged that they had to be towed home by tug.
(AP, 11/21/19)
2019 Dec 4, Hungary's foreign minister said Budapest would block Ukraine's membership in NATO until Kiev restored the rights that ethnic Hungarians had before a language law curbed minorities' access to education in their mother tongues.
(Reuters, 12/4/19)
2019 Dec 8, Some 5,000 Ukrainians rallied in Kiev warning President Volodymyr Zelensky to resist pressure from Russia's Vladimir Putin when the two men meet on Dec. 9 for talks on the conflict in Ukraine's east.
(AFP, 12/8/19)
2019 Dec 9, In France the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France met in Paris to discuss a peace settlement for Ukraine’s war-ravaged east for the first time in more than three years. Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy made clear at the talks that Ukraine must regain control of its eastern border before elections can take place in the disputed region as part of a peace accord. Russia's Pres. Putin said the elections must come first. Participating leaders agreed to implement a comprehensive ceasefire and hold a major prisoner exchange between the Ukrainian government and the separatists.
(The Telegraph, 12/9/19)(Bloomberg, 12/10/19)(The Telegraph, 12/10/19)
2019 Dec 9, Russia's interior minister said passports have been issued to 125,000 residents of rebel-held eastern Ukraine, deepening Moscow's ties with the separatist region even as it begins talks with Kiev aimed at ending the conflict.
(Reuters, 12/9/19)
2019 Dec 12, Ukrainian lawmakers extended a law offering special status to separatist-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine in accordance with agreements brokered by France and Germany.
(AP, 12/12/19)
2019 Dec 25, Ukrainian officials opened a criminal probe after a passenger train from Russia arrived in Crimea via a new Russian-built bridge, arguing that the train illegally carried people across the Ukrainian border.
(AP, 12/25/19)
2019 Dec 27, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview broadcast on Russian state television that Russia and Ukraine are withdrawing all of their lawsuits against each other after they agreed on a gas transit deal last week.
(The Telegraph, 12/27/19)
2019 Dec 29, Ukraine and two breakaway regions supported by the Kremlin exchanged prisoners under an agreement reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month as the former allies seek an end to more than five years of war in the Donbas area. Ukraine received 76 captives from the Russian-backed rebels. Ukraine returned 127 captives to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics.
(AP, 12/29/19)
2019 China leapfrogged Russia to become Ukraine's biggest single trading partner.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2020 Jan 8, In Iran everyone aboard the Boeing 737-800 flown by Ukraine International Airlines was killed after it came down shortly after it departed from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. 63 Canadians were killed in the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. There were three British people on board, as well as citizens from six other countries.
(The Telegraph, 1/8/20)(AFP, 1/8/20)
2020 Jan 9, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a day of national mourning, promising to find the "truth" about the crash of a Ukrainian airliner in Iran which killed all 176 on board.
(AFP, 1/9/20)
2020 Jan 10, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US believes it is "likely" Iran shot down the Ukrainian passenger plane that crashed this week in Iran, killing all 176 on board.
(AP, 1/10/20)
2020 Jan 11, Iran's Revolutionary Guard acknowledged that it accidentally shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, killing all 176 people aboard, after the government had repeatedly denied Western accusations and mounting evidence that it was responsible. Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator who fired on the plane did so independently because of communications "jamming".
(AP, 1/11/20)(AFP, 1/11/20)
2020 Jan 16, Ukrainian police said they have opened an investigation into the possibility that US ambassador Marie Yovanovitch came under illegal surveillance by an unknown party before she was recalled from her post in May.
(AP, 1/16/20)
2020 Jan 16, The US Government Accountability Office said in a report that the White House violated federal law in withholding security assistance to Ukraine, an action at the center of President Donald Trump's impeachment.
(AP, 1/16/20)
2020 Jan 17, Ukraine PM Oleksiy Honcharuk tendered his resignation after he was heard on a leaked recording criticizing his boss’s grasp of the economy. The move was seen as a formality and a pledge of loyalty. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected the offer.
(Bloomberg, 1/17/20)(SFC, 1/18/20, p.A2)
2020 Jan 19, Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 10 wounded this weekend in the eastern Donbass region.
(AP, 1/20/20)
2020 Jan 20, The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said Ukraine has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5 bird flu on a farm in the west-central part of the country, the first of such outbreak in nearly three years. The outbreak killed 4,856 birds out of a flock of 98,000 in Vinnitsa. The rest of the flock was slaughtered.
(Reuters, 1/20/20)
2020 Feb 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked Pope Francis for help to win the release of prisoners of war held by Russia and Russian-backed separatists.
(Reuters, 2/8/20)
2020 Feb 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he plans to hold local elections across the country, including in breakaway areas in eastern Ukraine. He said the polls, set for October, must be held under Ukrainian law.
(Bloomberg, 2/15/20)
2020 Mar 17, Ukrainian shops, restaurants and transport shut down as the country tightened restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Police arrested five people suspected of trying to rob 100,000 surgical masks at gunpoint in Kiev.
(AP, 3/17/20)
2020 Mar 21, Ukraine further restricted the use of public transport in its capital Kiev as it battles to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Ukraine has reported 41 cases of the virus and three deaths.
(Reuters, 3/21/20)
2020 Apr 1, Ukraine asked Elon Musk via Twitter to send it ventilators after the billionaire chief executive of Tesla Inc offered to ship them across the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 4/2/20)
2020 Apr 3, Ukraine's government imposed a series of new restrictions designed to prevent the coronavirus outbreak spreading widely but said it hoped to soften the measures again in late April. Ukraine reported 138 new cases of the coronavirus over the past day, taking the total number of infected people to 942 with 23 deaths.
(Reuters, 4/3/20)
2020 Apr 6, Emergency teams in Ukraine continued battling a forest fire in the contaminated area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. A man (27) said he burned grass “for fun" and then failed to extinguish the fire when the wind caused it to expand quickly. The blaze had spread to about 250 acres and was within the 1000-square-mile Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
(AP, 4/6/20)(SFC, 4/6/20, p.A2)
2020 Apr 9, The coronavirus has killed at least 57 people in Ukraine and the authorities aim to contain the spread of the disease in the run-up to Easter. Kiev and its surrounding region have 430 out of a total of 1,892 cases. The coronavirus has infected 26 people at the thousand-year-old headquarters of Ukraine's Russian-backed Orthodox Christian denomination, which had urged worshippers to defy lockdown orders.
(Reuters, 4/9/20)
2020 Apr 13, Ukraine's parliament approved a revised budget for 2020 drafted by the government to deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus epidemic.
(Reuters, 4/13/20)
2020 Apr 14, Ukraine said it had detained a security service general, Valery Shaitanov, on accusations of treason and working for Russia as a spy. The SBU security service said he had planned "terrorist acts" in Ukraine in exchange for $200,000 and a Russian passport.
(Reuters, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 14, Ukrainian emergency officials said they have extinguished forest fires in the radiation-contaminated area near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, but acknowledged that grass was still smoldering in some areas.
(AP, 4/14/20)
2020 Apr 16, Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine began a prisoner exchange. Ukraine took back 20 prisoners and in exchange for 14 rebels.
(AP, 4/16/20)(SFC, 4/17/20, p.A2)
2020 Apr 24, Mikheil Saakashvili, who served as Georgia’s president from 2004-2013, told reporters that he has accepted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's offer to become a deputy prime minister in charge of reforms. Zelenskiy had specifically asked him to conduct talks with the International Monetary Fund. The job offer to Saakashvili angered the government of Georgia led by his political foes.
(AP, 4/24/20)
2020 Apr 30, Ukraine reached 10,000 coronavirus cases and its health minister urged people not to violate lockdown measures. Cherkasy mayor Anatoliy Bondarenko decided to open shops, hairdressers and restaurants after appeals from businesses. His decision prompted police to launch criminal proceedings against the Cherkasy authorities and summon the mayor for questioning.
(Reuters, 4/30/20)(AP, 5/5/20)
2020 May 5, Ukraine has recorded 12,697 coronavirus cases, including 316 deaths.
(AP, 5/5/20)
2020 May 26, In Ukraine an attempted assassination of an alleged Montenegrin drug kingpin on a Kiev, Ukraine, street went sideways as two gunmen lit themselves on fire while trying to destroy evidence during their escape. Radoje Zvicer, a man believed to be a key member of a Montenegrin cocaine trafficking gang, was wounded in the attack. Five people were arrested.
(Business Insider, 5/27/20)
2020 Jun 15, Ukraine resumed flights to countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, India, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, relaxing a ban in place since March 17. Ukraine's own caseload has spiked in recent days to nearly 32,000 following a decision in May to resume public transportation and reopen of malls and gyms.
(AP, 6/15/20)
2020 Jun 16, Ukraine received more than $60 million worth of weapons and other equipment from the US as part of a security aid program.
(SFC, 6/18/20, p.A2)
2020 Jul 2, Sweden said that Iran has agreed to compensate the families of victims who were killed when a Ukrainian airliner was shot down by Iranian forces outside Tehran on January 8.
(AP, 7/3/20)
2020 Jul 8, It was reported that Ukraine's security service has detained a suspected Russian agent who was allegedly planning to blow up an ammonia tank in the country’s war-torn east.
(The Telegraph, 7/8/20)
2020 Jul 21, In northwestern Ukraine an armed man seized a long-distance bus and took people in it hostage launching an hours-long standoff with police. Maksim Krivosh (44), a Ukrainian born in Russia, seized the bus with 13 people. Krivosh released the hostages shortly after Pres. Zelenskiy urged Ukrainians to watch “Earthlings," a 2005 American documentary exposing humanity’s cruel exploitation of animals.
(AP, 7/21/20)(AP, 7/22/20)
2020 Jul 22, It was reported that the United States Secret Service and United States Department of State is offering up to $2 million for information leading to the arrests or convictions of Artem Radchenko and Oleksandr Ieremenko, both Ukrainian nationals. The two allegedly hacked into the SEC system in 2016 that companies use to make their filings public known as Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, or EDGAR.
(ABC News, 7/22/20)
2020 Aug 12, Ukraine recorded a record daily jump of 1,592 coronavirus cases. The total number of cases rose to 86,140, including 1,992 deaths.
(Reuters, 8/12/20)
2020 Aug 22, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged people to act on health advice on after official data showed daily COVID-19 infections had risen to a record level. The country saw 2,328 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 37 deaths of people having tested positive for the virus. Total cases rose to 102,971. The death toll has risen to 2,244.
(Reuters, 8/22/20)
2020 Aug 28, Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) convicted Oleksandr Levkivsky, a regional forestry official, for taking a $10,000 kickback to let out public land.
(Econ., 9/26/20, p.56)
2020 Aug 29, Ukraine registered a record 2,481 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from 2,438 in the previous day. The country has so far reported a total of 116,987 infections and 2,492 deaths from the virus.
(Reuters, 8/29/20)
2020 Sep 1, Ukraine reported 2,088 new coronavirus cases. PM Denys Shmygal said the number of new cases in Ukraine will continue to rise in September and could reach 3,000 a day by the end of this month. The country has reported a total of 123,303 infections and 2,605 deaths from the virus.
(AP, 9/1/20)
2020 Sep 2, Ukraine registered a record 2,495 new coronavirus cases and 51 related deaths in the past 24 hours. The country has so far reported a total of 125,798 infections and 2,656 deaths.
(Reuters, 9/2/20)
2020 Sep 8, Ukraine registered a record 57 deaths related to the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 54 deaths registered last week. A total of 140,479 cases were registered in Ukraine as of Sept. 8, with 2,934 deaths.
(AP, 9/8/20)
2020 Sep 11, Ukraine registered a record daily high of 3,144 new cases of the novel coronavirus, topping a previous record of 2,836 on Sept. 5. Ukraine had 148,756 registered cases with 3,076 deaths.
(Reuters, 9/11/20)
2020 Sep 15, Ukraine registered a record 76 deaths related to the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from a record of 72 deaths registered last week.
(Reuters, 9/15/20)
2020 Sep 17, Ukraine strongly warned thousands of Hasidic Jewish pilgrims who have been stuck on its border for days that it won't allow them into the country due to coronavirus restrictions. About 2,000 people have gathered at the border with Belarus, in hope of traveling to the Ukrainian city of Uman to visit the grave of Hasidic rabbi Nachman of Breslov (d.1810).
(AP, 9/17/20)
2020 Sep 25, A Ukrainian military aircraft, carrying a crew of seven and 20 cadets of a military aviation school, crashed while coming in for landing at the airport in Chuhuiv. Two people initially survived the crash, but one later died in a hospital.
(AP, 9/26/20)
2020 Sep 26, Ukraine registered a record 3,833 cases of new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 3,584 new cases reported on Sept. 17.
(Reuters, 9/26/20)
2020 Sep 30, Ukraine said it has registered a record 4,027 cases of new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 3,833 new cases reported on Sept. 26. A total of 208,959 cases were registered as of today, with 4,129 deaths.
(Reuters, 9/30/20)
2020 Sep 30, In Ukraine an American woman who worked for the United States Embassy in Kyiv was found unconscious with a head injury near the railway tracks in a park not far from the embassy. She died in a hospital later in the day. Police were investigating the death as a murder but at the same time had not ruled out an accident.
(AP, 10/1/20)
2020 Oct 5, Ukraine reported 3,774 new coronavirus cases. A total of 226,462 cases had been registered in Ukraine with 4,397 deaths.
(Reuters, 10/5/20)
2020 Oct 8, Ukraine registered a record 5,397 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from the previous record of 4,753 new cases reported a day earlier. The country's health minister warned that Ukraine's medical system could break down because of a surge in new coronavirus cases and the number of hospitalized people.
(Reuters, 10/8/20)
2020 Oct 10, Ukraine's national security council said a total of 256,266 coronavirus cases had been registered in Ukraine as of today, with 4,887 deaths. Daily virus deaths exceeded 100 for the first time since the epidemic began, jumping to 108.
(AP, 10/10/20)
2020 Oct 17, Ukraine registered a record 6,410 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, up from a previous record of 5,992 reported a day earlier. 109 patients had died in the past 24 hours, the highest daily toll since the start of the pandemic. A total of 293,641 cases had been registered in Ukraine as of today, with 5,517 deaths.
(Reuters, 10/17/20)
2020 Oct 19, Ukraine said its total number of coronavirus cases has reached 303,638, while the death toll is at 5,673. Ukraine registered 4,766 new cases in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 10/19/20)
2020 Oct 20, In Ukraine the number of daily coronavirus deaths jumped to 113 from the previous record of 109 deaths registered last week. A total of 309,107 cases had been registered in Ukraine as of today, with 5,786 deaths.
(Reuters, 10/20/20)
2020 Oct 21, In Ukraine the number of daily coronavirus deaths jumped to 141 from the previous record of 113 deaths registered a day earlier. A record 6,719 new coronavirus cases were registered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 315,826 cases with 5,927 deaths.
(Reuters, 10/21/20)
2020 Oct 22, Ukraine registered a daily record of 7,053 COVID-19 cases, up from a previous record of 6,719 a day earlier. The total number of cases climbed to 322,879. 116 new coronavirus-related deaths were registered in the past day.
(Reuters, 10/22/20)
2020 Oct 23, Ukraine registered a daily record of 7,517 COVID-19 cases. The total number of cases climbed to 330,396.
(Reuters, 10/23/20)
2020 Oct 25, Ukrainians voting in local elections that are considered a test for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
(AP, 10/25/20)
2020 Oct 27, Ukraine's constitutional court struck down the anti-corruption authorities' power to punish anyone for lying to it. Four of the court's 18 justices were being investigated by those same authorities.
(Econ., 11/14/20, p.48)
2020 Nov 3, Ukraine's health minister Maksym Stepanov said the situation with the coronavirus in Ukraine is close to catastrophic and the nation must prepare for the worst. Ukraine registered a record 8,899 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. Total infections stood at 411,093 with 7,532 deaths.
(Reuters, 11/3/20)
2020 Nov 4, Ukraine registered a record 9,524 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, a day after its minister described the situation in the country as verging on catastrophic.
(Reuters, 11/4/20)
2020 Nov 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that he has tested positive for the coronavirus and will be working in self-isolation while being treated.
(AP, 11/9/20)
2020 Nov 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's cabinet voted to impose a national lockdown at weekends from Nov. 14-30 to strengthen steps to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus.
(AP, 11/11/20)
2020 Nov 13, Ukraine registered a record 11,787 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. new cases TOOK the total confirmed infections to 512,652, with 9,317 deaths.
(Reuters, 11/13/20)
2020 Nov 20, Ukraine reported 14,575 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours. Total cases climbed to 598,085, with 10,598 deaths. Ukraine said it hoped to receive 8 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in the first half of next year.
(AP, 11/20/20)
2020 Nov 26, Ukraine said it is seeking a $100 million loan from the World Bank to buy doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, as the number of new infections in the country hit a daily record high. Ukraine has registered 677,189 coronavirus cases, with 11,717 deaths.
(Reuters, 11/26/20)
2020 Nov 28, In Ukraine the total number of novel coronavirus cases climbed to 709,701 as it registered a record daily tally of 16,294 new infections in the past 24 hours. 184 patients died of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of deaths to 12,093.
(Reuters, 11/28/20)
2020 Dec 11, Ukraine reported 13,514 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 872,228 cases with 14,755 deaths.
(AP, 12/11/20)
2020 Dec 18, Ukrainian state security service SBU said the country is facing almost daily hacker attacks on its government resources and intends to sharply strengthen its cyber security.
(Reuters, 12/18/20)
2020 Dec 30, Ukraine's presidential office said it has signed contract to buy 1.8 million doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, with the shots expected in "the shortest possible time".
(Reuters, 12/30/20)
2021 Jan 5, Ukrainian officials said they have seized about 1 metric ton (1.1 tons) of heroin that smugglers intended to take into European Union countries and that four Turkish citizens have been detained in the case. The heroin originated in Pakistan and came into the country via the Black Sea port of Odesa.
(AP, 1/6/21)
2021 Jan 6, Some Ukrainian media outlets reported that a clinic in Kyiv had begun inoculating people, probably with the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, at a charge of up to 3,000 euros ($3,683) per dose. Ukraine has yet to approve any of the newly developed vaccines.
(Reuters, 1/6/21)
2021 Jan 8, Afghanistan, Britain, Canada, Sweden and Ukraine said they want Tehran “to provide a complete and thorough explanation of the events and decisions that led to this appalling plane crash," on the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crash.
(AP, 1/8/21)
2021 Jan 14, Europe’s top human rights court (ECHR) agreed to look into Ukraine’s complaint against alleged human rights violations in the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
(AP, 1/14/20)
2021 Jan 21, In Ukraine a fire at a private nursing home in the city of Kharkiv killed 15 people and injured five others.
(AP, 1/21/21)
2021 Jan 31, It was reported that Russia has begun supplying its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine to the rebel-controlled region of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine despite a ban by Kyiv.
(Reuters, 1/31/21)
2021 Feb 3, Ukraine said it has shut several television channels owned by Russia-linked magnate Viktor Medvedchuk in what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described as a necessary move to fight Kremlin propaganda.
(AP, 2/3/21)
2021 Feb 4, In Ukraine three coronavirus patients and a doctor died in a fire at a hospital in Zaporizhzhia.
(AP, 2/4/21)
2021 Feb 11, Pfizer filed a registration application for the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in Ukraine. Authorities there have said the country expects to receive its first batch of 117,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in February within the framework of the COVAX program.
(Reuters, 2/11/21)
2021 Feb 11, The EU and the World Health Organization said they would spend 40 million euros ($48.48 million) over three years to ensure better access to COVID-19 vaccines in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/11/21)
2021 Feb 16, The Ukrainian health minister said that Kyiv's vaccine purchases were being hampered by "dirty information attacks" that had triggered a corruption investigation against his ministry.
(Reuters, 2/16/21)
2021 Feb 19, Ukraine’s national security council placed sanctions on Viktor Medvedchuk, a politician and tycoon who is a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, freezing his assets for three years and preventing him from doing business in the country.
(AP, 2/20/21)
2021 Feb 22, Ukraine accused unnamed Russian internet networks of massive attacks on Ukrainian security and defence websites, but gave no details of any damage done or say who it believed was behind the assault.
(Reuters, 2/22/21)
2021 Feb 23, Ukraine received its first shipment of coronavirus vaccine, a consignment of 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, raising hopes that authorities can start beating back the virus' spread in a country where cases have strained the fragile health care system.
(AP, 2/23/21)
2021 Feb 26, President Joe Biden reaffirmed US support for the people of Ukraine and vowed to hold Russia accountable for its aggression in a statement on the 7th anniversary of Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea.
(Axios, 2/26/21)
2021 Mar 1, It was reported that Ukrainian medical facilities have thrown away some unused COVID-19 vaccines after doctors failed to show up for their own appointments to be vaccinated.
(Reuters, 3/1/21)
2021 Mar 3, A court in Ukraine rejected a US extradition request for Craig Lang. The US Army veteran and North Carolina native traveled to Ukraine in 2015 and joined a right-wing paramilitary unit fighting the Russians. He has been charged in the US in connection with a 2018 double murder in Florida.
(SFC, 3/4/21, p.A3)
2021 Mar 4, Ukraine's military accused pro-Russian forces of shelling its positions to provoke them into returning fire. It said Russian-backed forces had violated the ceasefire four times within 24 hours.
(The Telegraph, 3/5/21)
2021 Mar 5, US Sec. of State Antony Blinken announced sanctions on Ihor Kolomoisky, an oil and media magnate in Ukraine, because of significant acts of corruption.
(SSFC, 3/7/21, p.A5)
2021 Mar 8, In Ukraine thousands of women marched through the center of Kyiv on International Women's Day to draw attention to domestic violence, which has risen sharply amid restrictions imposed to block the spread of coronavirus.
(AP, 3/8/21)
2021 Mar 9, Ukraine said it has approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac. Ukraine started COVID-19 vaccinations in late February but only 19,118 first shots had been given by March 9. Ukraine has reported more than 1.4 million coronavirus cases with 27,204 deaths.
(Reuters, 3/9/21)
2021 Mar 18, Ukraine registered 15,053 new coronavirus cases surpassing 1.5 million in total. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital will go into a lockdown on March 20 until April 9 because of the surge in cases.
(SFC, 3/19/21, p.A6)
2021 Mar 26, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for a phone call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin about the Russian troop buildup across his country's border and the escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine. The request was lodged when four Ukrainian troops were killed in a mortar attack in the east.
(AP, 4/12/21)
2021 Mar, Vladyslav Yesypenko, who worked for the Ukrainian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was apprehended by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) after covering an event honoring Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in Simferopol on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. During his first closed-door court appearance, the journalist declared that he was beaten and tortured with electric shocks in order to procure a false confession.
(The Daily Beast, 5/28/21)
2021 Apr 2, President Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since taking office as US and NATO officials warned of a Russian military buildup near eastern Ukraine.
(Axios, 4/2/21)
2021 Apr 3, Ukraine said it has approved China's Sinovac vaccine to fight the coronavirus pandemic, after the country recorded a record rise in new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row.
(Reuters, 4/3/21)
2021 Apr 6, Ukraine’s military said that two of its servicemen were killed within 24 hours in the country's east, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russian-backed separatists since 2014 and where tensions have intensified in recent weeks.
(AP, 4/6/21)
2021 Apr 9, Russia said it fears the resumption of full-scale fighting in eastern Ukraine and could take steps to protect civilians there, a stark warning that comes amid a Russian troop buildup along the border.
(AP, 4/9/21)
2021 Apr 10, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Turkey’s Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s for discussions on bilateral relations.
(AP, 4/10/21)
2021 Apr 11, The Ukrainian military said that a soldier was killed and another seriously wounded in artillery fire from Russia-backed separatist rebels.
(AP, 4/11/21)
2021 Apr 15, Ukraine's top diplomat asked for stronger Western backing, saying “words of support aren't enough" amid escalating tensions in the country’s east and a Russian troop buildup across the border.
(AP, 4/15/21)
2021 Apr 16, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel amid his country's growing tensions with neighboring Russia, which has deployed troops near its border with Ukraine.
(AP, 4/16/21)
2021 Apr 19, The European Union estimated that 150,000 Russian troops have already amassed for the biggest military buildup ever near Ukraine's borders and that it will only take “a spark" to set off a confrontation.
(AP, 4/19/21)
2021 Apr 21, It was reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law allowing to call up reservists for military service without announcing a mobilization.
(AP, 4/21/21)
2021 Apr 22, Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that massive military exercises near the border with Ukraine had been completed, and that he had ordered troops to return to their permanent bases by May 1. Shoigu also said that they should leave their weapons behind in western Russia for another exercise later this year.
(AP, 4/22/21)
2021 Apr 26, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy unveiled a new nuclear waste repository at Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster that unfolded exactly 35 years ago.
(AP, 4/26/21)
2021 May 1, Ukraine said it has signed a contract with Pfizer for an additional 10 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, brining the total number of doses to 20 million.
(AP, 5/1/21)
2021 May 13, Viktor Medvedchuk (66), a top Ukrainian opposition politician with close links to Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin, was placed under house arrest, days after being charged with treason.
(AP, 5/14/21)
2021 May 16, It was reported that fission reactions appear to be occurring in an inaccessible chamber of Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Scientists could not say whether the slow rise in neutron emissions will fizzle out or increase.
(SSFC, 5/16/21, p.B8)
2021 Jun 1, Germany's foreign minister rejected the idea of delivering weapons to Ukraine after the country's president indicated that he would like military help from Berlin.
(AP, 6/1/21)
2021 Jun 8, Ukraine registered 535 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily number of infections over the previous 24 hours for nearly a year and the ministry said infection rates declined for eight consecutive weeks.
(Reuters, 6/9/21)
2021 Jun 11, The Pentagon announced plans to send Ukraine $150 million in military assistance that will include counter-artillery radar, counter-drone technology and electronic warfare equipment.
(Reuters, 6/12/21)
2021 Jun 16, Ukrainian police said they have uncovered a ring of computer hackers responsible for cyberattacks that targeted universities in the United States and firms in South Korea, causing half a billion dollars in damage. Ukraine's cyber police announced they had arrested six people involved with Cl0p, and seized a number of computers, cars and about 5 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($185,000) in cash.
(AP, 6/16/21)(NBC News, 6/16/21)
2021 Jun 23, Ukraine said it has registered its first two cases of the more infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus. Ukraine has been among the European countries most affected by the pandemic, with around 2.23 million COVID-19 cases and 52,123 deaths.
(Reuters, 6/23/21)
2021 Jun 25, Ukraine obliged visitors from countries affected by the COVID-19 Delta variant take a mandatory antigen test in a bid to prevent the spread of the new infections.
(Reuters, 6/25/21)
2021 Jun 26, China said that it provides vaccines to other countries with no political conditions attached, responding to a story by The Associated Press saying China pressured Ukraine into withdrawing from a multi-country statement on human rights in China’s Xinjiang region by threatening to withhold a COVID-19 vaccine shipment.
(AP, 6/26/21)
2021 Jun 28, Ukraine and NATO launched Black Sea drills that will involve dozens of warships, an exercise that follows last week's incident with a British destroyer off Crimea.
(AP, 6/28/21)
2021 Jul 2, Ukraine's health ministry said it is investigating why a 47-year old man died just four hours after he received a shot of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. About 2 million of 41 million people in Ukraine have received their first shot since February, but no deaths caused by vaccination have been reported.
(Reuters, 7/2/21)
2021 Jul 2, A UN human rights agency in a report released today said prisoners taken in the years-long conflict in eastern Ukraine have experienced systematic torture, sexual violence and other abuses.
(AP, 7/2/21)
2021 Jul 11, It was reported that Ukraine police last week seized around 9,000 games consoles and computers in an illegal crypto mine in Vinnytsia. The mine was reportedly stealing as much as $259,300 in electricity each month. Police said it was the largest underground crypto mine to have been discovered in Ukraine.
(Business Insider, 7/11/21)
2021 Aug 3, In Ukraine Vitaly Shishov, the head of Belarusian House in Ukraine (BHU), was found hanged in a park near his home in Kyiv. BHU is an activist organization that helps Belarusians flee abroad.
(Axios, 8/3/21)
2021 Aug 11, Ukraine extended a state of emergency that allows regional authorities to impose COVID-19 restrictions for a further month until Oct. 1 to tackle a surge in infections from the rapidly spreading Delta variant.
(Reuters, 8/11/21)
2021 Aug 16, It was reported that Ukraine is moving ahead with an anti-corruption plan that will take more than 3,000 companies out of the hands of state officials, encouraging foreign investors to help create a more modern, Western-looking economy. All Russians will be banned from taking part in the huge new selloff of Ukrainian state-owned companies.
(The Daily Beast, 8/16/21)
2021 Aug 16, Poland will send 650,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Ukraine. Polish media said the country has a surplus of vaccines after having fully inoculating about 57% of the adult population.
(Reuters, 8/16/21)
2021 Aug 22, German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered reassurances that Ukraine would not suffer from the construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, but Ukraine said talks about its future as a transit country had been vague.
(Reuters, 8/22/21)
2021 Aug 23, The energy ministers of Ukraine, the United States and Germany discussed in Kyiv guarantees for Ukraine about its future as a transit country after the construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
(Reuters, 8/23/21)
2021 Aug 24, Ukraine held its first military parade in several years, celebrating the 30th anniversary of its independence and declaring it would reclaim areas of its territory annexed by Russia.
(Reuters, 8/24/21)
2021 Sep 1, President Joe Biden met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and offered strong support for Ukraine's sovereignty against Russian aggression coupled with a promise to deliver $60 million in security aid.
(Reuters, 9/1/21)
2021 Sep 4, Ukrainian officials said more than 50 Crimean Tatars have been detained by Russian law enforcement officers in Simferopol, Crimea. This came during protests after the FSB detained five minority Crimean Tatar activists.
(AP, 9/4/21)
2021 Sep 10, Russian company Gazprom said it had finished construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which will take natural gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine.
(Reuters, 9/11/21)
2021 Sep 19, In Ukraine some seven thousand people including soldiers and diplomats marched peacefully through Kyiv in an annual gay pride parade despite some opposition to an event called off last year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
(Reuters, 9/19/21)
2021 Sep 20, The US State Department said Russia prevented citizens from exercising their civil and political rights in recent elections and the United States does not recognize the Russian Duma elections on sovereign Ukrainian territory.
(Reuters, 9/20/21)
2021 Sep 22, Ukraine's parliament passed a law defining the concept of anti-Semitism and establishing punishment for transgressions.
(Reuters, 9/22/21)
2021 Sep 22, In the Ukraine a volley of automatic gunfire hit a car carrying a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an incident a senior official called an assassination attempt and Zelenskiy said may have been a message intended for him. The aide, Serhiy Shefir, survived unscathed but his driver was wounded.
(Reuters, 9/22/21)
2021 Sep 23, Ukraine's parliament passed a law to order "oligarchs" to register and stay out of politics, a day after an attempt to kill a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, which officials said could have been a response to the reform.
(Reuters, 9/23/21)
2021 Oct 4, Ukrainian police said they had arrested a 25-year-old man who hacked more than 100 foreign companies and caused damage worth more than $150 million.
(AP, 10/4/21)
2021 Oct 5, It was reported that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has imposed sanctions on 95 Ukrainian and Russia citizens in connection with the holding of Russian parliamentary elections in annexed Crimea.
(Reuters, 10/5/21)
2021 Oct 6, In Ukraine the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial center revealed the initial 159 names of hundreds of Nazi troops who took part in the Babi Yar massacre on Sept. 29-30, 1941, when 33,771 Jews were murdered.
(AP, 10/6/21)
2021 Oct 12, EU leaders vowed to uphold Ukraine's energy security and signed deals intended to bolster ties during a summit in Kyiv.
(AP, 10/12/21)
2021 Oct 14, In eastern Ukraine the Russia-backed separatist authorities in the Donetsk region, population 2.2 million, reported 1,0005 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 97 deaths in the past 24 hours. The region has seen a total of 5,578 deaths.
(SFC, 10/15/21, p.A6)
2021 Oct 17, The Organization for Security and Cooperation on Europe (OSCE) said it has suspended its monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine following protests near its headquarters in separatist-controlled Donetsk.
(Reuters, 10/17/21)
2021 Oct 21, In Ukraine coronavirus infections and deaths surged to all-time highs amid a laggard pace of vaccination, with overall inoculations among the lowest in Europe. Authorities reported 22,415 new confirmed infections and 546 deaths in the past 24 hours. Only about 15% of the population is fully vaccinated.
(AP, 10/21/21)
2021 Oct 22, Ukraine shut schools in coronavirus hotspots and announced a requirement for vaccine certificates or negative tests to access public transport in the capital, after COVID-19 deaths hit a record high.
(Reuters, 10/22/21)
2021 Oct 26, Ukraine's health minister urged more citizens to get vaccinated as coronavirus deaths hit a daily record of 734, with hospitalizations up more than a fifth on the previous week.
(Reuters, 10/26/21)
2021 Oct 26, A Dutch appeals court ruled that a collection of ancient Crimean gold artefacts, claimed both by Ukraine and by museums in the Russian-annexed peninsula, should be returned to the Ukrainian state.
(Reuters, 10/26/21)
2021 Oct 29, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded with citizens to get vaccinated quickly as daily infections soared to another all-time high, fueled by a slow vaccine uptake. The Health Ministry reported 26,870 new confirmed infections in the last 24 hours and 648 deaths, bringing the total toll to 66,852.
(AP, 10/29/21)(SFC, 10/30/21, p.A4)
2021 Nov 1, The Ukrainian capital Kyiv implemented tough new restrictions in an attempt to stem a surge in COVID-19 infections that is affecting many countries across eastern Europe amid a low take-up of vaccinations. Less than a fifth of the total population of around 41 million, has been fully vaccinated so far.
(Reuters, 11/1/21)
2021 Nov 3, In Ukraine more than a thousand blocked several streets in Kyiv protesting against COVID-19 vaccine certificates and state-imposed restrictions aimed at halting the spread of the virus.
(SFC, 11/4/21, p.A4)
2021 Nov 8, The US Justice Department said that it had brought charges against Yevgeniy Polyanin (28), a Russian national, whom it accused of conducting ransomware attacks against American government entities and businesses, including one that temporarily shut down the meat supply giant JBS. The department also unsealed a separate indictment accusing a Ukrainian national, Yaroslav Vasinskyi (22), with conducting multiple ransomware attacks, including the July 2021 assault on the technology company Kaseya. Europol said seven hackers linked to REvil and another ransomware family have been arrested since February.
(NY Times, 11/8/21)(SFC, 11/9/21, p.A8)
2021 Nov 11, Ukraine said it will deploy another 8,500 troops and police officers, and 15 helicopters, to guard its border with Belarus, aiming to prevent possible attempts by migrants to breach the frontier.
(Reuters, 11/11/21)
2021 Nov 15, A new round of fighting between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists began with a dispute over grocery shopping. One Ukrainian soldier was killed.
(NY Times, 11/15/21)
2021 Nov 26, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine had uncovered a plot to overthrow his government next week, involving individuals from Russia caught on tape talking about roping Ukraine's richest businessman into backing a coup.
(Reuters, 11/26/21)
2021 Nov 30, Ukraine PM Denys Shmygal accused Russia of being "absolutely" behind what he called an attempt to organize a coup to overthrow the pro-Western government in Kyiv, citing intelligence.
(Reuters, 11/30/21)
2021 Dec 7, Ukrainian authorities charged that Russia is sending tanks and snipers to the line of contact in war-torn eastern Ukraine to “provoke return fire," an accusation that comes amid fears that a Russian troop buildup near the Ukrainian border might indicate plans for an invasion.
(AP, 12/7/21)
2021 Dec 7, President Biden met with Vladimir Putin by video to discuss tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border.
(NY Times, 12/7/21)
2021 Dec 11, The G7 democracies sought to present a united front against Russian aggression toward Ukraine as Britain hosted a meeting of foreign ministers in the northern English city of Liverpool.
(Reuters, 12/11/21)
2021 Dec 16, Canada, Britain, Sweden and Ukraine set a new deadline for Iran to negotiate reparations for families of victims of the Jan 8, 2020, downed Ukrainian flight, warning that their "patience is wearing thin." They said Tehran must indicate by January 5 if it is willing to engage in negotiations.
(AP, 12/17/21)
2021 Dec 16, NATO stood by its promise to open a path to Ukrainian membership amid warnings from Western intelligence agencies that Moscow could soon begin a military incursion.
(NY Times, 12/16/21)
2021 Dec 17, Russia said it wanted a legally binding guarantee that the NATO military alliance would give up any military activity in Eastern Europe and Ukraine, part of a wish list of ambitious security guarantees it wants to negotiate with the West.
(Reuters, 12/17/21)
2021 Dec 18, Ukraine said it has detected its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant. So far Ukraine has reported 3.6 million cases of COVID-19 and 92,929 deaths.
(Reuters, 12/18/21)
2021 Dec 20, Ukrainian authorities placed former president Petro Poroshenko under formal investigation for high treason, accusing him of links to financing separatist forces in the eastern Donbass region.
(Reuters, 12/20/21)
2021 Dec 20, Poland and Lithuania joined Ukraine to call for stronger Western sanctions against Moscow amid a Russian troop buildup near the Ukrainian border that has fueled fears of an invasion.
(AP, 12/20/21)
2021 Dec 20, The US State Department said American citizens should reconsider travel to Ukraine amid increased threats from Russia and that it continues to advise against to travel to the country due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reuters, 12/20/21)
2021 Dec 21, President Vladimir Putin warned that Russia was prepared to take military steps in response to "unfriendly" Western actions over the Ukraine conflict, in a sharp escalation of rhetoric.
(AFP, 12/21/21)
2021 Dec 23, It was reported that Russian mercenaries have deployed to separatist-controlled eastern Ukraine in recent weeks to bolster defenses against Ukrainian government forces as tensions between Moscow and the West rise.
(Reuters, 12/23/21)
2022 Jan 2, President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone, reaffirming US support for Ukraine as it faces growing Russian aggression.
(NBC News, 1/2/22)
2022 Jan 6, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said it has frozen property owned by former President Petro Poroshenko as part of a formal investigation into alleged high treason by the former head of state. Prosecutors have said Poroshenko was involved in financing Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014-2015.
(Reuters, 1/6/22)
2022 Jan 10, Ukraine's SBU security service said it had detained a Russian military intelligence agent who was planning attacks on the country's largest Black Sea port of Odessa.
(Reuters, 1/10/22)
2022 Jan 10, US and Russian diplomats began meeting in Geneva for talks about Ukraine. The US and Russia deadlocked about NATO expansion.
(NY Times, 1/10/22)
2022 Jan 12, The United States and NATO rejected key Russian security demands for easing tensions over Ukraine but left open the possibility of future talks with Moscow on arms control, missile deployments and ways to prevent military incidents between Russia and the West.
(AP, 1/12/22)
2022 Jan 13, The European Union prolonged economic sanctions against Russia for six months for failing to live up to its commitments to the peace agreement in Ukraine, amid concern that Moscow may be preparing to invade its former Soviet neighbor.
(AP, 1/13/22)
2022 Jan 13, Microsoft detected destructive malware in systems belonging to several Ukrainian government agencies and organizations that work closely with the Ukrainian government.
(Reuters, 1/15/22)
2022 Jan 15, Ukraine said it believes a hacker group linked to Belarusian intelligence carried out a cyberattack that hit government websites this week and used malware similar to that used by a group tied to Russian intelligence.
(Reuters, 1/15/22)
2022 Jan 15, Microsoft Corp said in a blog post it observed destructive malware in systems belonging to several Ukrainian government agencies and organizations that work closely with the Ukrainian government. Microsoft, which first detected the malware on Jan. 13, said the malware attacks did not make use of any vulnerability in Microsoft products and services.
(Reuters, 1/15/22)
2022 Jan 16, Ukraine said that Russia was behind a cyberattack that defaced its government websites and alleged that Russia is engaged in an increasing “hybrid war" against its neighbor.
(AP, 1/16/22)
2022 Jan 16, Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he is returning to Ukraine to fight treason charges even though he views them as politically motivated, because he believes that fighting them is part of his defense of national unity.
(AP, 1/16/22)
2022 Jan 17, A bipartisan group of United States senators promised solidarity and weapons on a visit to Kyiv, while warning Russian President Vladimir Putin against launching a new military offensive against Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/17/22)
2022 Jan 19, Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko won a court ruling allowing him to remain at liberty while being investigated for treason in a probe he says was cooked up by allies of his successor, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
(Reuters, 1/19/22)
2022 Jan 19, President Biden said that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin will advance into Ukraine, but he also tried to address Russia's main complaint, indicating that Ukraine would not join NATO in the near future.
(Fox News, 1/19/22)
2022 Jan 20, Ukraine's central bank raised its main interest rate to 10% from 9%, crossing into double digits for the first time since April 2020, to try to tackle persistently high inflation and the economic fallout from a standoff with Russia.
(Reuters, 1/20/22)
2022 Jan 20, US President Joe Biden said that he has made clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that any Russian movement into Ukraine would be considered an invasion.
(Reuters, 1/20/22)
2022 Jan 20, The US imposed sanctions on current and former Ukrainian officials it accuses of working with Russia's intelligence service to destabilize Ukraine as Washington warned it was prepared to take further action if Russia launches an invasion into the former Soviet country.
(Reuters, 1/20/22)
2022 Jan 21, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy concluded two days of talks with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda. PM Duda called on European leaders to take a tough, united stance towards Russia amid fears that Moscow could be readying an invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/21/22)
2022 Jan 21, Ukraine's military intelligence said that Russia was actively recruiting mercenaries and sending them for intensive training in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/21/22)
2022 Jan 21, PM Justin Trudeau said Canada will offer Ukraine a loan of up to C$120 million ($95.6 million) and is looking at other ways to support Kyiv as a crisis with Russia deepens.
(Reuters, 1/21/22)
2022 Jan 22, The British government said that the Kremlin was developing plans to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine, and had already chosen a potential candidate, as President Vladimir V. Putin weighs whether to order the Russian forces amassed on Ukraine’s border to attack. Britain's foreign ministry said Russia was considering the Ukrainian politician Yevhen Murayev to lead a new government. Russia dismissed Britain's accusation as "disinformation." Murayev poured cold water on the claim in comments to the Observer newspaper.
(NY Times, 1/22/22)(Reuters, 1/23/22)
2022 Jan 23, The US State Department announced it was ordering diplomats' family members to leave Ukraine, as US President Joe Biden weighed options for boosting America's military assets in Eastern Europe to counter a buildup of Russian troops.
(Reuters, 1/23/22)
2022 Jan 24, EU Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union aims to help Ukraine with a 1.2 billion euro financial aid package to mitigate the effects of the conflict with Russia, which has amassed troops and heavy weapons on Ukraine's border.
(Reuters, 1/24/22)
2022 Jan 24, NATO said it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, in what Russia denounced as an escalation of tensions over Ukraine.
(Reuters, 1/24/22)
2022 Jan 25, Canada said it is temporarily withdrawing the families of its diplomats in Ukraine because of the Russian military build-up on the borders of the Eastern European country.
(Reuters, 1/25/22)
2022 Jan 25, A US plane carrying military equipment and munitions landed in Kyiv, the third shipment of a $200-million security package to shore up Ukraine as it braces for a possible Russian military offensive.
(Reuters, 1/25/22)
2022 Jan 26, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said the United States believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains poised to use force against Ukraine by mid-February despite a pressure campaign to stop him.
(AFP, 1/26/22)
2022 Jan 26, Unidentified hackers briefly took down a promotional website for Ukraine's foreign ministry for several hours today, amid increased tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over a massive build-up of Russian forces near their borders.
(Reuters, 1/26/22)
2022 Jan 26, The United States and its allies formally rejected Russia’s demands that NATO retreat from Eastern Europe and bar Ukraine from ever entering the alliance, but they proposed several areas — including nuclear arms control and limits on military exercises — where they were willing to negotiate.
(NY Times, 1/26/22)
2022 Jan 27, The United States said it has asked the United Nations Security Council meet publicly on Jan. 31 to discuss Russia's "threatening behavior" against Ukraine and its troop build-up on Ukraine's borders and in Belarus. UN diplomats said any attempt to stop the meeting would likely be defeated.
(Reuters, 1/27/22)
2022 Jan 28, Russia's top diplomat insisted that Moscow isn't going to start a war with Ukraine. But with more than 100,000 Russian troops massed along the country's borders, he also said Moscow would not "be ignored".
(CBS News, 1/28/22)
2022 Jan 31, Russia failed to keep a UN Security Council session on the Ukraine crisis behind closed doors, which provides the United States and other members with a public forum to criticize Moscow for its troop buildup.
(Reuters, 1/31/22)
2022 Jan 31, It was reported that the infamous Wagner Group, run by one of President Putin’s closest associates, is pulling dozens of battle-hardened mercenaries out of Africa to send them to Eastern Europe where Russian forces are threatening Ukraine.
(The Daily Beast, 1/31/22)
2022 Feb 1, Ukraine's Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree to boost his armed forces by 100,000 troops over three years, as European leaders lined up to back him in a standoff with Russia and the United States demanded immediate Russian de-escalation.
(Reuters, 2/1/22)
2022 Feb 1, Ukrainian investigators said they had searched the premises of former managers at state energy firm Naftogaz and private companies in a pre-trial investigation into the suspected misappropriation of 2.2 billion hryvnias ($77 million) of gas.
(Reuters, 2/1/22)
2022 Feb 1, Leaders of Britain, Poland and Ukraine met in Kyiv to strengthen their three-way cooperation in the face of the threat of a new Russian military intervention.
(Reuters, 2/1/22)
2022 Feb 2, The United States said it will send nearly 3,000 extra troops to Poland and Romania to reinforce Eastern European NATO allies in the face of what Washington describes as a Russian threat to invade Ukraine. Pres. Biden ordered 2,000 US-based troops to Poland and shifted 1,000 from Germany to Romania.
(Reuters, 2/2/22)(SFC, 2/3/22, p.A2)
2022 Feb 3, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed an offer from visiting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to mediate in Kyiv's standoff with Moscow, and Erdogan promised to do whatever he could to end the crisis peacefully. Zelenskiy also trumpeted a deal enabling Ukrainian factories to produce Turkish drones that have already been deployed against Russia-backed rebels in its eastern Donbass region.
(Reuters, 2/3/22)
2022 Feb 3, A statement by the Chinese foreign ministry said China and Russia coordinated their positions on Ukraine during a meeting between both countries' foreign ministers in Beijing.
(Reuters, 2/3/22)
2022 Feb 3, NATO said Russia had stepped up deployments to Ukraine's northern neighbor Belarus in recent days and was expected to have 30,000 troops there for joint military exercises this month.
(Reuters, 2/3/22)
2022 Feb 6, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that Russia could invade Ukraine “any day," launching a conflict that would come at an “enormous human cost".
(AP, 2/6/22)
2022 Feb 7, French President Emmanuel Macron flew to Moscow in bid to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to dial down tensions with Ukraine. Moscow played down expectations of a breakthrough. Putin said President Emmanuel Macron of France had offered “rather feasible" proposals, but the Russian leader did not rule out an invasion.
(Reuters, 2/7/22)(NY Times, 2/8/22)
2022 Feb 7, After meeting with the leader of Germany, President Biden said that a lucrative gas pipeline project connecting Russia and Germany would not go forward if Moscow were to invade Ukraine.
(NY Times, 2/7/22)
2022 Feb 11, The US and its allies urged their citizens to leave Ukraine right away to avoid a Russian invasion, including a possible air assault, that Washington said could occur anytime.
(Reuters, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 12, In Ukraine several thousand rallied in Kyiv to show unity amid fears of a Russian invasion, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told people not to panic and pushed back against what he said was a glut of bleak war predictions being reported in the media.
(Reuters, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 12, Pres. Joe Biden called President Vladimir Putin and made clear that if Russia invades Ukraine, the US and its allies would respond “decisively and impose swift and severe costs".
(AP, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 12, The Pentagon said about 150 US troops from the Florida National Guard who have been in Ukraine to help train Ukrainian forces are leaving the country as the threat of a Russian invasion increases.
(Reuters, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 12, It was reported that the US State Department has ordered non-emergency US embassy staff to leave Ukraine amid rising tensions with Russia.
(Reuters, 2/12/22)
2022 Feb 13, Ukraine received a consignment of Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems and ammunition by plane from Lithuania. Earlier today two other planes delivered about 180 tons of ammunition from the United States.
(Reuters, 2/13/22)
2022 Feb 13, Australia said it was evacuating its embassy in Kyiv as the situation on the Russia-Ukraine border deteriorated quickly, with PM Scott Morrison calling on China to not remain "chillingly silent" on the crisis.
(Reuters, 2/13/22)
2022 Feb 13, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Russia of immediate sanctions and "hard reactions" if it attacks Ukraine, maintaining a tough tone ahead of a meeting this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters, 2/13/22)
2022 Feb 15, At least 10 Ukrainian websites stopped working due to DDOS cyberattacks, including those of the Defense Ministry, Foreign Ministry, Culture Ministry and Ukraine’s two largest state banks.
(AP, 2/15/22)
2022 Feb 15, PM Fumio Kishida told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call that Japan is ready to extend at least $100 million in emergency loans to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/15/22)
2022 Feb 15, President Vladimir V. Putin said that Russia had decided “to partially pull back troops" as the Defense Ministry announced that some forces from military districts bordering Ukraine were being sent back to their garrisons. Russia's lower house of parliament voted to ask President Vladimir Putin to recognize two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent. Putin said that Russia does not want a war in Europe, but described the situation in east Ukraine's breakaway regions as "genocide" and called for the conflict there to be resolved through the Minsk peace progress.
(NY Times, 2/15/22)(Reuters, 2/15/22)
2022 Feb 15, Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz began in Moscow, the latest meeting in weeks of diplomatic efforts to defuse tensions over Ukraine.
(AP, 2/15/22)
2022 Feb 16, Ukrainians raised national flags and played the country's anthem to show unity against fears of a Russian invasion that Western powers have said could be imminent.
(Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022 Feb 16, The United States and NATO said Russia was still building up troops around Ukraine despite Moscow's insistence it was pulling back.
(Reuters, 2/16/22)
2022 Feb 17, The Ukrainian military said shells fired by Russian-backed separatists in the morning hit a kindergarten, wounding three teachers but no students.
(NY Times, 2/18/22)
2022 Feb 17, British PM Boris Johnson said that an attack on a kindergarten in Ukraine was a false flag operation designed to discredit the Ukrainians.
(Reuters, 2/17/22)
2022 Feb 17, Britain scrapped so called "golden visas" for wealthy investors amid heightened concerns about illicit Russian money after the Kremlin positioned more than 100,000 troops around Ukraine's border.
(Reuters, 2/17/22)
2022 Feb 17, US President Joe Biden said there was now every indication Russia was planning to invade into Ukraine, including signs Moscow was carrying out a false flag operation to justify it, after Ukrainian forces and pro-Moscow rebels traded fire.
(Reuters, 2/17/22)
2022 Feb 18, Ukraine called on the international community to condemn what it said were provocations by Russia in separatist-held eastern Ukrainian areas, saying that Moscow would only escalate the situation further if it did not. Russian-backed separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine said that a parked jeep with nobody inside had been blown up near a government building in the center of the city of Donetsk.
(Reuters, 2/18/22)
2022 Feb 18, Pres. Vladimir Putin said that Russia needed to work on increasing its economic sovereignty and that the West would always find a pretext to impose sanctions on Moscow. Putin told Ukraine to sit down for negotiations with Moscow-backed separatists in Ukraine's east.
(Reuters, 2/18/22)
2022 Feb 18, Russian-backed separatists announced the sudden surprise evacuation of their breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, a shock turn in a conflict the West believes Moscow plans to use to justify an all-out invasion of its neighbor.
(Reuters, 2/18/22)
2022 Feb 19, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he wanted to convene a meeting of world powers to secure new security guarantees for his country as the current global system is no longer fit for purpose. Ukraine's military said that mercenaries had arrived in separatist-held eastern Ukraine to stage provocations in collaboration with Russia's special services.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine has received a plane load of machine guns, surveillance gear and rifles as part of a Canadian military assistance package.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the Minsk Agreement the "only way out" for resolving the Ukraine situation, and said Ukraine should not be a frontline for competition among major powers.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, France urged its citizens to leave the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk without delay after a rise in tensions following Russia's military build-up near Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertion that Ukraine was committing genocide in the Donbass region was ridiculous.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, President Vladimir Putin launched exercises by Russia's strategic nuclear missile forces and Washington said Russian troops massed near Ukraine's border were moving forward and "poised to strike." The head of a Russia-dominated military alliance that is sometimes called Moscow's answer to NATO has said his organization could send peacekeepers to territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia-backed rebels if needed.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 19, Russian-backed separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine declared a full military mobilization, a day after ordering women and children to evacuate to southern Russia because of what they said was the threat of conflict.
(Reuters, 2/19/22)
2022 Feb 20, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern part of the country, where clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces intensified in recent days. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that it was time for the West to implement at least part of the sanctions it has prepared against Russia.
(Reuters, 2/20/22)
2022 Feb 20, Poland, which currently holds the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said it would convene an extraordinary session of the group's Permanent Council on Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/20/22)
2022 Feb 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the need to step up the search for diplomatic solutions to the escalating crisis in eastern Ukraine in a phone call. Macron put blame on the Russian separatists and Putin on Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/20/22)
2022 Feb 21, Ukraine's government-run cybersecurity agency CERT-UA said it had found warnings on a hacking forum. Authorities said they had seen online warnings that hackers were preparing to launch major attacks on government agencies, banks and the defence sector on Feb. 22.
(Reuters, 2/21/22)
2022 Feb 21, The leaders of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize them as independent. Putin said Russia would decide later today whether or not to recognize two breakaway regions as independent.
(Reuters, 2/21/22)
2022 Feb 21, Moscow said Ukrainian military saboteurs had tried to enter Russian territory in armed vehicles, an accusation dismissed as "fake news" by Kyiv.
(Reuters, 2/21/22)
2022 Feb 21, Slovak PM told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a phone call that Slovakia is working on helping Ukraine's energy security.
(Reuters, 2/21/22)
2022 Feb 22, Britain imposed sanctions on Gennady Timchenko and two other billionaires with close links to Vladimir Putin after the Russian president ordered troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China is concerned about the "worsening" situation in Ukraine, repeating his call for all parties to show restraint and resolve differences through dialogue.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, President Vladimir Putin said that Russia respected the sovereignty of other ex-Soviet republics and that Moscow had made an exception with Ukraine because he said it was under foreign control. Putin got the green light from his upper house of parliament to deploy Russian military forces to two separatist-held regions of eastern Ukraine for what lawmakers said would be a "peacekeeping" mission. President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula should be internationally recognized as a legitimate reflection of the local population’s choice, likening it to a vote for Kosovo independence.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula should be internationally recognized as a legitimate reflection of the local population’s choice, likening it to a vote for Kosovo independence.
(AP, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, Japan said it stood ready to join the US and other G7 industrialized nations in slapping sanctions on Russia, should President Vladimir Putin order an invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said Syria supports the decision of its ally Russia to recognize two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 22, Turkey called Russia's recognition of Ukraine's separatists an unacceptable violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity.
(Reuters, 2/22/22)
2022 Feb 23, Ukraine declared a 30-day state of emergency and told its citizens in Russia to flee, while Moscow began evacuating its Kyiv embassy. Ukraine started conscripting reservists aged 18-60 following a decree by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It was reported that two separate convoys of military equipment with no identifiable insignia were moving towards the city of Donetsk along different roads from the direction of the Russian border.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, The websites of Ukraine's government, foreign ministry and state security service were down in what the government said was the start of another massive denial of service (DDoS) attack that began at around 4 p.m.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, Ukraine appealed to the UN General Assembly to stop Russia's "aggressive plans," as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the 193-member body that an expanded conflict "could see a scale and severity of need unseen for many years".
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, PM Boris Johnson said Britain will provide further military support to Ukraine, including lethal defensive weapons. Britain accused Russian news channel RT of being a tool of a Kremlin disinformation campaign and asked the UK media regulator to take action if needed after Russia recognized two rebel regions of eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Britain will stop Russia selling sovereign debt in London after President Vladimir Putin deployed military forces into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, The EU agreed to slap sanctions on Russia's defense minister, a top adviser to President Vladimir Putin and hundreds of Russian lawmakers who voted in favor of recognizing the independence of separatist areas in southeast Ukraine.
(AP, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 23, The presidents of Lithuania and Poland said Ukraine deserves European Union candidate status, and that they will support it in this goal.
(Reuters, 2/23/22)
2022 Feb 24, Russian troops poured over the border, and Russian planes and missile launchers attacked Ukrainian cities and airports. Ukrainian military said they have shot down six Russian fighters and a helicopter during intense battles to maintain control over cities. The Kremlin said that the length of Russia's military operation in Ukraine depended on how it progressed and on its aims, and that the assault should ideally cleanse the country of "Nazis" and "neutralize" Kyiv's military potential. Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere would lead to “consequences you have never seen."
(NY Times, 2/24/22)(Reuters, 2/24/22)(Axios, 2/24/22)(AP, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on all citizens who were ready to defend the country from Russian forces to come forward, saying Kyiv would issue weapons to everyone who wants them. Zelenskiy said Ukraine was listening to the sound of a new iron curtain falling as Russian troops advanced across his country's territory Ukrainians fleeing a Russian invasion started trickling into Poland, with dozens arriving at the normally quiet Medyka crossing, some carrying luggage and accompanied by children. Ukraine's military suspended commercial shipping at its ports after Russian forces invaded the country.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, China rejected calling Russia's moves on Ukraine an "invasion" and urged all sides to exercise restraint, even as it advised its citizens there to stay home or at least take the precaution of displaying a Chinese flag if they needed to drive anywhere.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, Colombia, Argentina and Chile called for swift withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, as other Latin American countries rejected the use of force but stopped short of calling for a Russian exit.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 24, Ursula von der Leyen, the chief of the EU's Executive Commission, said the European Union will hold Moscow accountable for the "unjustified" attack on Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, European soccer’s governing body said it is convening an emergency meeting of its top board members on Feb. 25 after deciding to strip St. Petersburg, Russia, from hosting the Champions League final, the biggest club game of the year, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
(NY Times, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, The German Eastern Business Association, a lobby group representing German businesses with interest in Eastern Europe, called on friends and partners in Russia to raise their voices and call for Russia's war on Ukraine to be ended.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, India said it is focusing on evacuating its 16,000 nationals still stuck in Ukraine. The schedule for special flights to Kyiv were cancelled as the country's airspace was closed.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, Russia's Aeroflot was banned from flying to the United Kingdom after President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 24, US President Joe Biden met with his counterparts from the Group of Seven allies to map out more severe measures against Russia after President Vladimir Putin launched what Biden called "a premeditated war" against Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 24, Venezuela's foreign ministry said that NATO and the United States had violated the Minsk agreements, a 2014 deal aimed at ending a war in Donbas.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 24, Global oil price Brent surged past $100 a barrel, after Russia invaded Ukraine, exacerbating concerns of oil supply disruption.
(Reuters, 2/24/22)
2022 Feb 25, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that said that Russian saboteurs had entered Kyiv, the capital, and that he was “target No. 1" for Russian forces, followed by his family. He also said at least 137 Ukrainians, military and civilian, have been killed. People in Kyiv were told to make Molotov cocktail petrol bombs as they hid in makeshift shelters and basements, awaiting a Russian assault on the capital.
(NY Times, 2/25/22)(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, The top Ukraine official in South Korea said that his country wants to request Seoul's assistance in boosting its cybersecurity capability to defend against Russian attacks.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, The cargo ship Namura Queen was hit by a rocket off the shore of Ukraine in the Black Sea, causing a fire on board. Russia fired on "Namura Queen" under Panama's flag and "Millennial Spirit" under Moldova's flag.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 26, PM Alexander De Croo said Belgium will deploy 300 troops in Romania as part of NATO efforts to strengthen its eastern flank, as Russia pounded Ukrainian cities with artillery and cruise missiles for a third day.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 25, In London Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man before he fell foul of the Kremlin, said that only revolution would topple Vladimir Putin, and he expected the Kremlin chief to crack down further on dissent at home after invading Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, It was reported that Canadian liquor stores are removing Russian vodka and other Russian made alcoholic beverages from their shelves in an act of condemnation over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. An int'l boycott of Russian vodka soon developed and continued to grow.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)(SFC, 3/2/22, p.C2)
2022 Feb 25, The container shipping arm of China's COSCO Shipping said that it will stop accepting new bookings for cargoes to and from Ukraine, the latest shipping group to take such action after Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, It was reported that the European Union has agreed to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov along with other sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
(AP, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Thousands of Georgians poured into the streets for a 2nd day to protest their government's inaction following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Axios, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 25, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the European Union will accept all people fleeing the violence caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance has activated elements of the 40,000-troop NATO Response Force (NRF) for the first time, warning at a press conference: "The Kremlin's objectives are not limited to Ukraine".
(Axios, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk for negotiations with representatives of Ukraine after the Russian leader held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Russia said it has banned British airlines from landing at its airports or crossing its airspace. The move follows London's ban on the flights of Russian flag carrier Aeroflot imposed in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Russia vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that would have deplored Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while China abstained from the vote - a move Western countries view as a win for showing Russia's international isolation.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Russia said it was partially limiting access to Meta Platforms Inc's Facebook, accusing it of "censoring" Russian media, the latest in a series of steps against US social media giants.
(AP, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, The Russia-based Conti cybercrime group, known for using ransomware to extort millions of dollars from US and European companies, vowed to attack enemies of the Kremlin if they respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It later walked back on the position as they themselves became victims of a leak.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Feb 25, The UN refugee agency said more than 50,000 Ukrainians have fled their country in less than 48 hours and "many more are moving towards" Ukraine's borders.
(Axios, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, Pope Francis went to the Russian embassy to the Holy See to relay his concern over Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Moscow's ambassador, in an unprecedented departure from diplomatic protocol.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 25, President Joe Biden instructed the US State Department to release up to an additional $350 million worth of weapons from US stocks to Ukraine as it struggles to repulse a Russian invasion.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, Protesters around the world showed their support for the people of Ukraine and called on governments to do more to help Kyiv, punish Russia and avoid a broader conflict.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 25, Several companies, including automakers Volkswagen and Renault and tire maker Nokian Tyres outlined plans to shut or shift manufacturing operations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/25/22)
2022 Feb 26, Ukraine braced for an all-out assault on Kyiv as its leaders warned residents that Russia wanted to “bring the capital to its knees." Russian forces pounded Ukrainian cities with artillery and cruise missiles for a third day running. A defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the capital Kyiv remained in Ukrainian hands. Heavy fighting was reported in and around Kharkiv and there were Ukrainian counterattacks in some places previously claimed by Russian forces, including Sumy in the east.
(NY Times, 2/26/22)(The Guardian, 2/26/22)(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, In Ukraine a missile struck a civilian apartment block on the southwestern edge of Kyiv, injuring at least six people. Ukrainian health minister, Viktor Lyashko, said that 198 people, among them three children, had been killed since the start of the Russian incursion on Feb. 24.
(NY Times, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 26, More than 150,000 refugees have fled Ukraine into neighboring countries since Russia launched its unprovoked invasion. Poland said at least 100,000 Ukrainians had crossed the border in the past 48 hours.
(Axios, 2/26/22)(SSFC, 2/27/22, p.A5)
2022 Feb 26, A United Nations relief agency said at least 64 civilians have been killed and more than 160,000 are on the move after Russian troops entered Ukraine this week.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 26, Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that Chechen fighters had been deployed to Ukraine and urged Ukrainians to overthrow their government.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, An EU diplomat said Germany is in the process of approving the delivery of 400 RPGs to Ukraine by a third country, a major shift in policy after Berlin faced criticism for refusing to send weapons to Kyiv, unlike other Western allies.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, In Spain Ukrainian sailor Taras Ostapchuk (55) tried to sink a superyacht allegedly belonging to a Russian arms tycoon at a luxurious marina in Mallorca. His target was the Lady Anastasia, a 457-feet-long superyacht owned by Alexander Mikheev (61), the CEO of Rosoboronexport, the weapons export arm of Russia's state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec. On Feb. 28 Ostapchuk was on his way to his native Kyiv, determined to join the fight against invading forces there.
(AP, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 26, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a phone call that Ankara is making efforts for an immediate ceasefire.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 26, SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk said that the company's Starlink satellite broadband service is available in Ukraine and SpaceX is sending more terminals to the country, whose internet has been disrupted due to the Russian invasion.
(Reuters, 2/26/22)
2022 Feb 27, The Ukrainian president's office said negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow would be held at the Belarusian-Ukrainian border. They would meet without preconditions. Pres. Zelenskiy said Ukraine is establishing a foreign "international" legion for volunteers from abroad. Zelenskiy also said Ukraine has filed a suit against Russia at the highest UN court in The Hague for disputes between states, citing erroneous allegations of genocide against Kyiv.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, It was reported that some Ukrainian men and women are returning home from across Europe to help defend their homeland. Poland’s Border Guard said that some 22,000 people have crossed into Ukraine since Feb 24.
(AP, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that 352 civilians have been killed, including 14 children since Russian troops entered Ukraine on Feb. 24.
(NY Times, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro declined to condemn Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, while departing from his government's official stance at the United Nations to say Brazil would remain neutral.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 27, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would sharply increase its spending on defence to more than 2% of its economic output in one of a series of policy shifts prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. More than 100,000 people protested in solidarity with Ukraine in Berlin, calling for the end of Russia's invasion and saying history should not repeat itself.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Israeli PM Naftali Bennett offered to mediate an end to the Ukraine hostilities during a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Mexican bread maker Grupo Bimbo said it has temporarily suspended operations in its Dnipro plant to ensure the safety of its 150 workers, all of whom are Ukrainians, citing the ongoing crisis with Russia.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military command to put nuclear-armed forces on high alert as Ukrainian fighters defending the city of Kharkiv said they had repelled an attack by invading Russian troops. Russian troops blew up a natural gas pipeline in Kharkiv before daybreak.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, Russia's police detained 2710 people at anti-war protests that occurred in 51 cities, according to rights group OVD-Info, raising the total since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 to over 4,000. Today's protests coincided with the seventh anniversary of the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)(SFC, 2/28/22, p.A2)
2022 Feb 27, Two Russian billionaires, Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska, called for an end to the conflict triggered by President Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine, with Fridman calling it a tragedy for both countries' people.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 27, NATO member Turkey changed its rhetoric to call Russia's assault on Ukraine a "war" and pledged to implement parts of an international pact that would potentially limit the transit of Russian warships from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
(Reuters, 2/27/22)
2022 Feb 28, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked the European Union to allow Ukraine to gain membership under a special procedure immediately as it defends itself from invasion by Russian forces. At least 11 people were killed in rocket strikes by Russian forces on residential districts of Kharkiv.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Human rights groups and Ukraine's ambassador to the United States accused Russia of attacking Ukrainians with cluster bombs and vacuum bombs, weapons that have been condemned by a variety of international organizations.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Russian and Ukrainian officials met on the Belarusian border to discuss a ceasefire while invading Russian forces encountered determined resistance from Ukrainian troops and civilians on a fifth day of conflict. Russian forces fired on residential areas in Kharkiv, killing dozens and wounding hundreds of people.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, PM Justin Trudeau said Canada will supply anti-tank weapons and upgraded ammunition to Ukraine to support its fight against a Russian invasion, and it will ban imports of Russian crude oil.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a news briefing that Western arms supplies to Ukraine showed that Moscow was right to try to demilitarize its neighbor.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, It was reported that Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich, who owns English Premier League soccer club Chelsea, has accepted a Ukrainian request to help negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, The movement of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for a campaign of civil disobedience to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It was reported that more than 5,000 demonstrators have been arrested in Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine last week.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)(CBS News, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Websites of several Russian media outlets were hacked, with a message condemning Moscow's invasion of Ukraine appearing on their main pages, while others were blocked by the Russian authorities over their coverage of the war.
(AP, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, India said it plans to send four senior ministers to Ukraine's border nations, to help in the rescue of thousands of its citizens who remain trapped more than four days after Russia's invasion of the country.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, A NATO official said a cyberattack on a NATO member state could trigger Article 5, its collective defence clause, amid concerns that chaos in cyberspace around Russia's invasion of Ukraine could spill over into other territories.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Nigeria's government condemned reports that its citizens, and those of other African countries, have been stopped from leaving war-torn Ukraine.
(BBC, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) suspended container bookings to and from Russia hours after Denmark-based Maersk said it was considering doing the same in response to Western sanctions on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, Switzerland's Federal Council said it would adopt sanctions against Russia effective immediately. The measures, it said, would match those of the European Union, of which Switzerland is not a member.
( Business Insider, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, The Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said it would not be an avenue for any circumvention of powerful Western sanctions put on Russia over the weekend.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Feb 28, The United States shuttered its embassy in Minsk and allowed non-emergency employees and family members to leave its embassy in Moscow as Russia pushed on with its invasion of Ukraine for a fifth day.
(Reuters, 2/28/22)
2022 Mar 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the EU to "prove that you are with us" in Ukraine's war with Russia, a day after Kyiv officially asked to join the bloc.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked his Chinese counterpart in a phone call to use Beijing's ties with Moscow to stop Russia's military invasion of its neighbor.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine believes Russia is preparing a mass disinformation campaign to suggest senior military and political figures have surrendered.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, In Ukraine an Indian student was killed by shelling in the eastern city of Kharkiv, prompting New Delhi to step up demands for safe passage to evacuate thousands of its nationals trapped in the war zone.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Over 70 Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed by a Russian missile strike on a military base in the eastern city of Okhtyrka. At least 10 people were killed and 35 more were injured as Russian missiles and rockets struck Kharkiv.
(The Daily Beast, 3/1/22)(https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60567162)
2022 Mar 1, PM Scott Morrison said Australia has committed A$70 million ($50 million) to fund lethal defensive weapons for Ukraine, including missiles and ammunition.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Britain said it was pledging another 80 million pounds ($106.5 million) towards aid for Ukraine to help it tackle a growing humanitarian crisis.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Estonian PM Kaja Kallas said NATO must improve its defenses of the Baltic nations, the most vulnerable part of the military alliance, after meeting with Britain's Boris Johnson and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. Johnson said the shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv by Russian forces is an atrocity reminiscent of the attacks on Sarajevo by the Serbs in the 1990s, adding such attacks were uniting the world against Russia.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Russia warned Kyiv residents to flee their homes and rained rockets down on Kharkiv, as Russian commanders who have failed to achieve a quick victory shifted their tactics to intensify the bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman said that the war in Ukraine was a tragedy and that it should stop.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Russia's Foreign Ministry said a system should be created to hold western tech giants, including Meta Platforms Inc and Alphabet's Google, responsible for what it called "inciting war." State communications Roskomnadzor also demanded that foreign internet services stop discriminating against Russian media in Europe.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Russia took radio station Ekho Moskvy off air, because of its coverage of the invasion. Some restaurant users have begun posting online reviews detailing Russian actions in Ukraine to try to smuggle information past the tight control of state media.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 1, Taiwan said it will join moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system and has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine to show support for the international "democratic camp".
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Ukraine and Russia to immediately stop fighting and to "contribute to world peace", adding Ankara was not opposed to NATO enlargement.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, UN agencies launched an emergency appeal to respond to the soaring humanitarian needs following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling for $1.7 billion to help people who have fled the country and those still inside.
(Reuters, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, More than 100 UN diplomats from 40 nations walked out when Russia’s foreign minister began to speak at the Human Rights Council. Dozens of envoys boycotted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s speech in protest over the Kremlin-led invasion of Ukraine, which has entered its sixth day.
(Yahoo News, 3/1/22)
2022 Mar 1, US Pres. Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address. He devoted the opening of his speech to a pledge of solidarity with Ukraine’s democratically elected government and a promise to hold the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, accountable for the invasion. Biden used much of the rest of the speech to promote his domestic agenda.
(NY Times, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 1, American and EU officials said at least 136 civilians and about 2,000 Russian soldiers have died since Russia attacked Ukraine on Feb 24. Ukraine has said its forces have killed more than 5,300 Russian troops.
(NY Times, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, In Ukraine Kyiv was under bombardment this morning, as Russian tanks continued their slow advance to the capital. Authorities said 21 people were killed by shelling and air strikes in Kharkiv in the past 24 hours, and four more this morning.
(NY Times, 3/2/22)(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Ukrainians said they were battling on in the port of Kherson, the first sizeable city Russia claimed to have seized, as air strikes and bombardment caused devastation in cities that Moscow's bogged down forces have failed to capture.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the country was set to receive Stinger and Javelin missiles from abroad, as well as another shipment of Turkish drones.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, British PM Boris Johnson said that he believed the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin towards Ukraine already qualified as a war crime. Johnson also said law firms working to stop Russian oligarchs from being hit by government sanctions could face penalties themselves.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, British online fashion retailers ASOS and Boohoo said they have suspended sales in Russia after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, joining a growing list of companies shunning the country.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Britain's Premier League club Everton said it has suspended all commercial sponsorship arrangements with the Russian companies USM Holdings, MegaFon and Yota with immediate effect as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Motorsport UK banned Russian and Belarusian license holders from racing in the British Grand Prix amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, It was reported that many of the world's largest crypto exchanges - including Binance and U.S.-based Kraken and Coinbase - have stopped short of a blanket ban on Russian clients, despite a plea from the Ukrainian government for one. They said they would screen users and block anyone targeted by sanctions.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Luxury retailer Canada Goose Holdings Inc said it would suspend all wholesale and e-commerce sales to Russia, becoming the latest company to respond to the country's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, India's opposition stepped up pressure on the government to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a day after an Indian student died during shelling in the eastern city of Kharkiv.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, It was reported that India has asked Indonesia to increase palm oil shipments to the country to compensate for a loss of sunflower oil supplies from the Black Sea region due to the Ukraine crisis.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Honda Motor said it has suspended exports of cars and motorcycles to Russia, signaling the likelihood more Japanese automakers would join the global swell of companies halting business with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, It was reported that Moldova, one of Europe’s poorest countries, has taken in at least 88,000 Ukrainians.
(Fox News, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, It was reported that jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has called on Russians to stage daily protests against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, depicting President Vladimir Putin as an "obviously insane tsar".
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Russia's defense ministry said that 498 Russian soldiers had died in Ukraine and another 1,597 had been wounded since the beginning of Moscow's military operation there. The ministry also said that more than 2,870 Ukrainian soldiers and "nationalists" had been killed and about 3,700 wounded. The numbers could not be independently verified.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Russian forces seized the southern port of Kherson and besieged other cities, with casualties and destruction mounting. More than a million people have fled since the war began a week ago.
(NY Times, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution rebuking the Russian invasion of Ukraine and calling Moscow to immediately withdraw all forces from Ukraine, a move that aimed to politically isolate Russia. The resolution won support from 141 of the 193-member body. The General Assembly voted 141-5 in a nonbinding measure to condemn Russia's actions. Thirty-five countries, including India, abstained.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)(Axios, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, The US Justice Department launched a task force known as "KleptoCapture" aimed at straining the finances of Russia's oligarchs as the United States steps up pressure Russia to cease its invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 2, Former President Trump called the Russian invasion into Ukraine "a holocaust" and urged Russia to stop fighting, a large shift in tone since last week when the former president praised Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(The Hill, 3/2/22)
2022 Mar 3, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces are stepping up efforts to seize control of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Ukraine's parliament approved a bill to allow the seizure of assets or property in Ukraine owned by Russia or Russian citizens due to the invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, In Ukraine at least 22 people were killed and four wounded in a Russian air strike that hit two schools and private houses in the eastern Chernihiv region. Two cargo ships came under apparent attack at Ukrainian ports. Four crew members were missing after Estonian-owned ship exploded and sank off Odessa, and at least one crew member was killed in a blast on a Bangladeshi ship at Olvia.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Russian President Vladimir Putin has deployed thermobaric weapons systems in Ukraine and London is worried about how broadly they could be used.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Canadian officials said Canada will remove Russia and Belarus's most favored nation status as trading partners, and will provide additional lethal aid to Ukraine, including rocket launchers and hand grenades.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Germany said it will send 2,700 shoulder-launched surface-to-air rockets to Ukraine, in addition to arms shipments the country has already announced.
(NY Times, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, It was reported that the Dutch are sending rocket launchers for air defense to Ukraine. The Estonians are sending Javelin antitank missiles. The Poles and the Latvians are sending Stinger surface-to-air missiles. The Czechs are sending machine guns, sniper rifles, pistols and ammunition. Even formerly neutral countries like Sweden and Finland are sending weapons.
(NY Times, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Pres. Vladimir Putin said that Russia would achieve its goal in Ukraine “no matter what" in a 90-minute phone call with French Pres, Emmanuel Macron. In a televised address, Putin told Russians that he was determined to fight the war.
(NY Times, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 3, Russian and Ukrainian delegations convened near the Ukraine-Belarus border for a second round of peace talks, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to signal his commitment to continuing the invasion. Negotiators agreed to open humanitarian corridors for those wishing to evacuate from Ukraine amid Russia's ongoing invasion of the country.
(Axios, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Russian forces pushed west in Ukraine, bearing down on another important port city, Mykolai from the north, east and south.
(NY Times, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he believed some foreign leaders were preparing for war against Russia and that Moscow would press on with its military operation in Ukraine until "the end".
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, Lukoil's board of directors said in a statement: "The Board of Directors of LUKOIL expresses herewith its deepest concerns about the tragic events in Ukraine. Calling for the soonest termination of the armed conflict, we express our sincere empathy for all victims, who are affected by this tragedy".
(The Hill, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 3, Russian human rights activist and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov urged world powers to adopt a harsher military and economic strategy against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his invasion of Ukraine. Kasparov said there could be no peace in the region until Putin is removed from power.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 3, The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors backed a resolution that "deplores" Russia's invasion of Ukraine and urges it to let Ukraine control all its nuclear facilities. Russia and China voted against the resolution. The UN human rights office said that it had confirmed 249 civilians have been killed and 553 injured in Ukraine during the first week of the conflict following Russia's invasion.
(Reuters, 3/3/22)
2022 Mar 4, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Russian soldiers had committed rape in Ukrainian cities. Regional governor Vitaliy Kim said Russian forces were driven out of the city of Mykolayiv after attacking it, but fighting continued around the city outskirts. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said the city has no water, heat or electricity and is running out of food after coming under attack by Russian forces for the past five days.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said that the Belarusian armed forces were not taking part and would not take part in Russia's military operation in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, It was reported that a growing number of Russians and Ukrainians are traveling to Mexico, buying throwaway cars and driving across the border into the US to seek asylum.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies agreed they would impose further sanctions on Russia if Moscow does not stop attacking Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian forces in Ukraine are increasingly targeting the civilian population.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, India urged Ukraine and Russia to impose a ceasefire in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy to help evacuate around 700 Indian students trapped there amid worsening conflict.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that the country would not send arms to Ukraine after Ukrainian representatives had asked the country's Senate for arms and military assistance a day earlier.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, NATO allies rejected Ukraine's demand for no-fly zones, saying they were increasing support but that stepping in directly would lead to a broader, even more brutal European war so far limited to Russia's assault on its neighbor.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law legislation that would punish journalists with prison time for publishing news that contradicts officials' statements about Moscow's war in Ukraine.
(Fox News, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Russian troops in Ukraine seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. International monitors said there was no sign that radiation had leaked.
(AP, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny told Russians to protest against the war in Ukraine in Russian cities and across the world on March 6, and accused President Vladmir Putin of bringing shame on the Russian national flag and language.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper, whose editor Dmitry Muratov was a co-winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, said it would remove material on Russia's military actions in Ukraine from its website because of censorship. The newspaper said it would continue to report on the consequences that Russia is facing, including a deepening economic crisis and the persecution of dissidents.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the situation in Ukraine was worsening and it must not be allowed to escalate, adding Turkey would keep its air space open.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, The United Nations Human Rights Council voted decisively to set up an international tribunal to investigate possible war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine.
(NY Times, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 4, Microsoft Corp said it was suspending new sales of its products and services in Russia, becoming the latest Western company to distance itself from Moscow after the Ukraine invasion. Several major companies, including Apple Inc, Nike and Dell Technologies, have severed connections with Russia.
(Reuters, 3/4/22)
2022 Mar 5, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, directed cybersecurity enthusiasts to a Telegram channel that contained instructions for knocking Russian websites offline.
(NY Times, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, Kyiv's cyber watchdog agency said Ukrainian websites have been under nonstop attack from Russian hackers since the Kremlin launched an invasion of the country last month.
(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, In western Ukraine thousands of women and children, many weeping and numb with exhaustion, arrived in Lviv as the state railway put on more trains to rescue people from fierce Russian attacks on eastern cities.
(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, In eastern Ukraine Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boichenko said shelling from the Russian side has destroyed half of a convoy of buses his team had readied for the evacuation of people. Near-constant bombardment by encircling Russian forces has cut off food, water, power and heating supplies to the city.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 5, Russia continued its broad offensive in Ukraine, pummeling cities and towns. Ukrainian officials said that Russia was not abiding by a limited cease-fire for the besieged city of Mariupol. Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said thousands of people had gathered for safe passage out of the city and buses were departing when shelling began. President Vladimir Putin said that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war and warned that any attempt to impose a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be tantamount to entering the conflict. The Kremlin said that the West was behaving like a bandit by cutting economic relations over the conflict in Ukraine.
(NY Times, 3/5/22)(AP, 3/5/22)(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, Russia's defence ministry said no one made use of two humanitarian corridors set up near Ukraine's cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha and accused Ukrainian "nationalists" of preventing civilians from leaving.
(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 5, A UN monitoring mission said at least 351 civilians are confirmed to have been killed in Ukraine since Russian troops invaded on Feb. 24, and another 707 wounded, although the true numbers are probably "considerably higher".
(Reuters, 3/5/22)
2022 Mar 6, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed directly to Russians to take to the streets in protest against the Kremlin's invasion of his country or risk their own poverty and repression.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, The Ukrainian armed forces' general staff said more than 11,000 Russian troops have been killed since Moscow launched an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. It did not report Ukrainian casualties.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, Ukraine's state-run railway operator said it is ready to organize agricultural exports by rail as a matter of urgency, after closure of the country's Black Sea ports because of the military invasion by Russia.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his campaign in Ukraine was going to plan and would not end until Kyiv stopped fighting, as efforts to evacuate 200,000 people from the heavily bombarded city of Mariupol fell apart for a second day in a row.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, In Russia more than 4,300 people were detained at protests across the country against President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. The interior ministry said 1,700 people had been detained in Moscow, 750 in St Petersburg and 1,061 in other cities. The OVD-Info protest monitoring group said it had documented the detention of at least 4,366 people in 56 different cities.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, Russian soldiers fired a mortar that killed civilians as they were trying to evacuate Iprin, a town on the outskirts of Kyiv.
(NY Times, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 6, Visitors to a defense show in Saudi Arabia were met with the surreal sight of seeing the latest Ukrainian and Russian military hardware competing for attention in pristine exhibition halls.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has seen very credible reports of deliberate attacks on civilians in Ukraine, adding that Washington was documenting them to support appropriate organizations in their potential war crimes investigation over Russia's actions.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, The United Nations refugee agency updated the count of people who have fled Ukraine since the war began to 1.5 million.
(NY Times, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 6, Pope Francis rejected Russia's use of the term "special military operation" for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the country was being battered by war and urging an immediate end to the fighting.
(Reuters, 3/6/22)
2022 Mar 7, Ukraine's government said it has helped evacuate about 20,000 Indian students from areas attacked by Russian forces but another 2,000 foreign students are still trapped in besieged towns and cities.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, PM Boris Johnson rejected calls for Britain to ease visa demands on Ukrainian refugees fleeing conflict, saying Britain was a generous country but it needed to maintain checks on who was arriving. Johnson said his government was pledging another 175 million pounds ($230.28 million) in aid for Ukraine to help it deal with a growing humanitarian crisis.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Russia is probably targeting Ukraine's communication infrastructure to reduce access to reliable news sources.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, PM Justin Trudeau, speaking in London, said Canada is announcing new sanctions on 10 individuals close to the Russian leadership over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China's Red Cross will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine "as soon as possible," as he praised his country's friendship with Russia as "rock solid".
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Indian PM Narendra Modi urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in addition to ongoing negotiations.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Russia said it has told Ukraine it is ready to halt military operations "in a moment" if Ukraine ceases military action, changes its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledges Crimea as Russian territory, and recognizes the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Moscow offered Ukrainians escape routes to Russia and its close ally Belarus, drawing cries of outrage from Ukraine, where officials said a bread factory had been hit by an air strike in the latest Russian bombardment.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Kira Yarmysh, spokeswoman for jailed Russian opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny, urged women across the country to use Tuesday's International Women's Day to demand an end to Russia's war on Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Russian forces resumed their attack on the port city of Mykolaiv after being repelled during three days of fighting.
(NY Times, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 7, Vladimir Lisin, a Russian billionaire, told employees at steelmaker NLMK that lost lives in Ukraine were a tragedy that was hard to justify, and called for a peaceful diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
(Reuters, 3/7/22)
2022 Mar 8, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Britain’s Parliament, echoing Winston Churchill during World War II: “We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets." Zelenskiy signed a decree recalling all peacekeeping forces and equipment, including helicopters, in order to assist in the war effort at home.
(NY Times, 3/9/22)(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 8, The Ukrainian military claimed early today to have shot down three Russian fighter jets and a cruise missile. Nearly 1,000 towns and villages in Ukraine were now without electricity, water and heat, and some areas lacked medicine. The Ukrainian government accused Russian forces of shelling a humanitarian corridor it had promised to open to let residents flee the besieged port of Mariupol as the civilian death toll in the conflict mounted.
(NY Times, 3/8/22)(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, Ukraine Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said 61 hospitals in Ukraine are not operational because of attacks by Russian forces. The Kyiv government accused Russian forces of shelling a humanitarian corridor that Moscow had promised to open to let residents flee the besieged port of Mariupol.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, A Ukrainian government official said major cryptocurrency exchanges staying put in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine will suffer a public backlash against their business around the world.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, CEO Mike Greenley said Canada's MDA Inc is providing Ukraine with real-time satellite images taken at night and through cloud cover to support its fight against Russia.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for "maximum restraint" in Ukraine and said China is "pained to see the flames of war reignited in Europe." Xi, speaking at a virtual meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, said the three countries should jointly support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, It was reported that the Chinese government is scrubbing the country’s media of sympathetic or accurate coverage of Ukraine and systematically amplifying pro-Putin talking points about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Axios, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, The European Union said it has taken in two million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and millions more will follow.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, It was reported that The European Commission has prepared a new package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine that will hit additional Russian oligarchs and politicians and three Belarusian banks.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, Lithuania rolled out a cutting edge digital information campaign that will personally contact up to 40 million Russians in a bid to stop the war in Ukraine.
(PR Newswire, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there were credible reports that Russia was targeting civilians in Ukraine and urged Moscow to end the conflict, also vowing not to let it spread.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, Pres. Vladimir Putin said Russia will not use any conscript soldiers in Ukraine in a televised message to mark International Women's Day.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, US President Joe Biden announced a US ban on Russian oil and other energy imports, ramping up a pressure campaign on Moscow in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. Oil prices surged as the United States and Britain moved to ban Russian oil imports. Biden predicted prices would rise further as a result of "Putin's war," but pledged to do all he could to minimize the impact on the American people.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 8, The Vatican's Secretary of State told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone call that the Holy See wants armed attacks in Ukraine to stop and humanitarian corridors to be guaranteed.
(Reuters, 3/8/22)
2022 Mar 9, Ukraine said there was a danger of a radiation leak at the Chernobyl nuclear power station after electricity was cut off to the plant, but the UN nuclear watchdog saw "no critical impact on security".
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Ukraine accused Russia of bombing a children's hospital in the besieged port of Mariupol during a supposed ceasefire to enable some of the hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in the city to escape. Ukraine said at least 1,170 civilians have been killed in Mariupol since the start of the Russian invasion. Mariupol deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov said 47 were buried in a mass grave today.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Defense minister Ben Wallace said Britain is planning to supply Ukraine with anti-aircraft missiles to help it defend its skies from Russian invasion.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, The UK Ministry of Defense said Russia has confirmed its use of a thermobaric weapon system, or "vacuum" bombs, during Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Thermobaric bombs are capable of sucking the air out of person's lungs, causing them to fill with liquid, or causing a person's lungs to rupture or explode. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby, meanwhile, said that he has seen "no indications" that Russia has used thermobaric weapons in Ukraine.
(Fox News, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a call that Canada will send Ukraine another shipment of highly-specialized military equipment. Trudeau also invited Zelenskiy to address Canada's parliament.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, The EU said it was stepping up sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including targeting more Russian individuals and adding banks in Moscow's ally Belarus. The EU blacklisted the CEO of Russian airline Aeroflot, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov's son-in-law and more oligarchs in a fresh round of sanctions.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Russia said the United States must explain what Moscow claims was a military biological program in Ukraine - an allegation Washington has already dismissed as "absurd" misinformation.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Russia's defense ministry admitted to its use of conscripts in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, despite President Vladimir Putin’s repeated insistence that Kremlin military forces only consisted of professional fighters.
(Fox News, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, Russia's Defence Ministry said that nearly 180,000 people had been evacuated from Ukraine to Russia since the start of the conflict on Feb. 24. Russia's defence ministry published a promotional video called "Z Heroes", using the "V" and "Z" to spell out the words for bravery, heroism and strength in truth.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 9, US congressional leaders reached a bipartisan agreement early to allocate $13.6 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine and provide $15.6 billion to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reuters, 3/9/22)
2022 Mar 10, Ukraine's foreign minister said Moscow had refused during talks to guarantee humanitarian access to rescue civilians trapped under bombardment. The United Nations said more than 2.3 million people had now fled Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, Britain said it will streamline a system next week to allow Ukrainians to enter the country, after an outcry over a requirement for people fleeing Russia's invasion to get biometric tests before being allowed in.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, It was reported that China's censors, who quietly determine what can be discussed on the country's buzzing social media platforms, are silencing views of citizens protesting against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, The Polish ambassador to Kyiv said imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine would help bring the conflict there to a faster conclusion and save lives.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, The Biden administration accused Russia of using the UN Security Council to promote disinformation from Moscow ahead of March 11 meeting on allegations of US “biological activities" in Ukraine — a charge made without any evidence and denied by both Washington and Kyiv.
(AP, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, The US Senate approved legislation providing $1.5 trillion to fund the federal government through Sept. 30 and to allocate $13.6 billion to aid Ukraine. President Joe Biden was expected to sign the bill into law, averting agency shutdowns ahead of the March 11 midnight deadline.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, The US House of Representatives voted to rush $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine as it battles invading Russian forces, along with $1.5 trillion to keep US government programs operating through Sept. 30 and avoid agency shutdowns this weekend.
(Reuters, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 10, Vice President Harris, during a trip to Warsaw, Poland, announced more than $50 million in additional humanitarian assistance for people displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Harris also called for an international war crimes investigation into Russia’s bombing of civilians in Ukraine.
(The Hill, 3/10/22)(The Independent, 3/10/22)
2022 Mar 11, Ukraine accused Russian forces of bombing and shelling cities across the country, including hitting a psychiatric hospital near the eastern town of Izyum where hundreds of patients were sheltering in the basement. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared that Ukraine had reached a strategic turning point in its fight with Russia, which he said was relying on conscripts, reservists and Syrian mercenaries to prop up its invasion force.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, An adviser to Ukraine's president said Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow as Russian jets carried out what Ukraine said was a false-flag attack on Belarusian villages.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, The head of Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said Russian officials have attempted to enter and take full operational control of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, In southeastern Ukraine the Mariupol city council said at least 1,582 civilians in city as a result of Russian shelling and a 12-day blockade. UN agencies said more than 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said it has confirmed the deaths of 564 civilians in Ukraine since Feb. 24, including 41 children. The real toll is thought to be considerably higher.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light for up to 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East to be deployed alongside Russian-backed rebels to fight in Ukraine, doubling down an invasion that the West says has been losing momentum.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, Russian forces renewed their ground offensive and widened their bombardment of Ukraine, targeting locations far from the front lines while continuing to pummel cities already devastated by fighting. Russian forces in Melitopol kidnapped Mayor Ivan Fedorov. American defense officials estimated that invading pilots were averaging 200 sorties a day, compared with 5-10 for Ukrianian forces.
(NY Times, 3/11/22)(Reuters, 3/12/22)(SFC, 3/12/22, p.A2)
2022 Mar 11, Russian authorities initiated the process of declaring Facebook’s parent company, Meta, an “extremist organization," and started blocking access to Instagram, after the company allowed users to call for violence against Russian soldiers in the context of the continuing invasion of Ukraine..
(NY Times, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny called for anti-war protests in Moscow and other cities on March 13.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, The United States imposed sanctions on Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, three family members of President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson and lawmakers in the latest punishment for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 11, It was reported that Russia's baseless claims about secret American biological warfare labs in Ukraine are taking root in the US too, uniting COVID-19 conspiracy theorists, QAnon adherents and some supporters of ex-President Donald Trump.
(AP, 3/11/22)
2022 Mar 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was sending in new troops after Ukrainian forces had put 31 of its battalion tactical groups out of action. He said 500-600 Russian troops had surrendered a day earlier and that about 1,300 Ukrainian troops had been killed since the conflict began.
(Reuters, 3/12/22)
2022 Mar 12, Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said the eastern Ukrainian town of Volnovakha has been completely destroyed following the Russian invasion but fighting continued for territory there to prevent a Russian encirclement. Russian forces reportedly shelled a mosque in the southern port city of Mariupol, where more than 80 adults and children, including Turkish citizens, have taken refuge.
(Reuters, 3/12/22)
2022 Mar 12, Russian forces intensified their campaign of devastation aimed at cities and towns across Ukraine, including in the capital, Kyiv. Russian rocket attacks destroyed a Ukrainian airbase and hit an ammunition depot near the town of Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region.
(NY Times, 3/12/22)(Reuters, 3/12/22)
2022 Mar 12, In Italy thousands of people packed into one of Florence's biggest squares to show their support for Ukraine and listen to a videoed speech from Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, Ukraine’s attorney general said at least 85 children have died and nearly 100 have been wounded in the fighting in Ukraine. The city council of Mariupol said the city is running out of its last reserves of food and water, adding that Russian forces blockading the city continued to shell non-military targets.
(NY Times, 3/13/22)(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, Ukraine said it is working with Israel and Turkey as mediators to finalize a location and framework for peace negotiations with Russia.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, It was reported that Britain will pay people to open their homes to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion as the government moves to deflect anger over its response to the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, In Cyprus dozens of Russian nationals joined Ukrainians in the coastal resort town of Limassol, home to a sizeable Russian expatriate community, to protest the war in Ukraine.
(AP, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, India said it has decided to temporarily relocate its embassy in Ukraine to Poland.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, In Italy a bus carrying Ukrainians in northern Italy overturned this morning, killing one person.
(NY Times, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, Russia launched a barrage of airstrikes at a military base near the Polish border that killed at least 35 people and brought the war perilously closer to NATO’s doorstep. Brent Renaud (50), an award-winning American filmmaker and journalist, was killed while reporting in a suburb of Kyiv. Russia installed a new “acting mayor" in Melitopol. A Russian airstrike killed 9 civilians in Mykolaiv.
(NY Times, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 13, In Russia protests against the war in Ukraine were taking place in at least 20 cities, as small numbers of people continue to defy a crackdown on dissent. By midday, police had detained more than 250 demonstrators. OVD-Info said more than 860 people were detained in 36 cities.
(NY Times, 3/13/22)(SFC, 3/14/22, p.A4)
2022 Mar 13, At the Vatican a somber Pope Francis issued his toughest condemnation yet of the invasion of Ukraine, saying the "unacceptable armed aggression" and "massacre" must stop.
(Reuters, 3/13/22)
2022 Mar 14, Ukraine said it held "hard" talks on a ceasefire, immediate withdrawal of troops and security guarantees with Russia, despite the fatal shelling of a residential building in Kyiv. The talks paused and will continue tomorrow. A convoy of over 160 cars left Mariupol, in what appeared to be the first successful attempt to arrange a "humanitarian corridor" to evacuate civilians from the encircled city.
(Reuters, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 14, In Ukraine Fox News cameraman, Pierre Zakrzewski (55) and Ukrainian journalist, Oleksandra Kuvshynova (24) were killed while were traveling in the same vehicle as the Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was injured in the attack in the town of Horenka.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 14, Russia's defense ministry said that 20 civilians had been killed and 28 wounded when a Ukrainian missile with a cluster charge exploded in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk. The ministry provided no evidence and Ukraine denied launching an attack.
(Reuters, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 14, Russian fertilizer and coal billionaire Andrei Melnichenko said a global food crisis looms unless the war in Ukraine is stopped because fertilizer prices are soaring so fast that many farmers can no longer afford soil nutrients.
(Reuters, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 14, The UN said that the number of refugees who have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24 has topped 2.8 million.
(AFP, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 14, Martin Griffiths, the United Nations humanitarian chief, announced that the UN would allocate $40 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to increase aid to some of the most vulnerable people affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(The Hill, 3/14/22)
2022 Mar 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine stepped up his appeals to Russian soldiers and citizens appalled by the war as evidence grew that Russia’s advance had stalled across multiple fronts. Two missile strikes destroyed the runway and damaged the terminal building of the Dnipro airport. Russian air strikes and shelling hit Kyiv killing at least four people.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)(Reuters, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleading for more Western support and asked Canadian lawmakers in a video address to imagine the impact of such a war on their own country.
(Reuters, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, In Ukraine an estimated 4,000 cars, or 20,000 people, left Mariupol as humanitarian corridors partially opened.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, called on the international community to support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine “to help de-escalate the situation as soon as possible".
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, The European Union formally approved a new barrage of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which include bans on investments in the Russian energy sector, luxury goods exports and imports of steel products from Russia. The EU banned top credit rating firms from rating Russia's sovereign debt and the country's companies as part of its latest sanctions package.
(Reuters, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, Leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled to Kyiv to express solidarity with Ukraine in a visit that was kept secret until the last minute.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 15, Poland's ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski announced the idea of a peacekeeping mission during a trip to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
(Reuters, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 15, Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin threw cold water on prospects of an imminent breakthrough as talks aimed at brokering a cease-fire ended without an agreement.
(NY Times, 3/15/22)
2022 Mar 16, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine made an urgent and emotional appeal to the US Congress to come to his country’s aid as it fights off a Russian invasion. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine’s armed forces are launching counteroffensives against Russian forces "in several operational areas".
(NY Times, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainians in Voznesensk "eliminated most of a Russian battalion tactical group on March 2 and 3," killing an estimated 100 Russians and capturing or destroying 30 of 43 Russian tanks and other vehicles.
(AP, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 16, Defense minister Ben Wallace said Britain is supplying starstreak anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, In the Netherlands the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Russia to stop the military actions it started in Ukraine on Feb. 24.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, Russia said that some parts of a possible peace deal with Ukraine were close to being agreed after Kyiv agreed to discuss neutrality, raising hopes of an end to the biggest war in Europe since World War Two. President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would achieve its goals in Ukraine and would not submit to what he called a Western attempt to achieve global dominance and dismember Russia.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, Russian forces bombed a theater where civilians were sheltering in Ukraine's encircled port city of Mariupol. Three people were killed and five wounded after shelling caused a fire at a market in the eastern city of Kharkiv. Local officials in Mariupol have tallied more than 2,500 deaths in the siege. Russia's military assault on the city of Chernihiv killed at least 53 people.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)(SFC, 3/17/22, p.A5)(CBS News, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 16, The United States and its allies launched a multilateral task force to tackle Russian oligarchs, increasing cooperation on freezing assets as the West steps up pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell urged President Joe Biden to expand Ukraine's air defenses, bolster the presence of US forces on NATO's eastern flank and visit eastern European countries.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, A US Air Force cargo jet began shipping helmets and other non-lethal military kit donated by Japan to Ukraine, marking the first time an American aircraft has carried Japanese Self Defense Force gear to another country.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 16, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill (75) of the Russian Orthodox Church discussed the war in Ukraine, the first known contact between the two religious leaders since the conflict began. Kirill, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has made statements defending Moscow's actions in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/16/22)
2022 Mar 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking to the Bundestag by videolink, urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to tear down what he called a wall between "free and unfree" Europe and stop the war in Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down 10 Russian planes and cruise missiles. 21 people were killed by Russian artillery that destroyed a school and a community center in Merefa, near the northeast city of Kharkiv. Russian Colonel Sergei Sukharev, of the 331st Guards Parachute Assault Regiment from Kostroma, and his deputy Major Sergei Krylov were killed. Senior sergeant Sergei Lebedev, sergeant Alexander Limonov, corporal Yuri Degtyarev, and captain Alexei Nikitin – of the same paratroop regiment – were also killed.
(NY Times, 3/18/22)(CBS News, 3/18/22)(The Independent, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 17, In Ukraine Viacheslav Chaus, governor of the region centered on the frontline northern city of Chernihiv, said 53 civilians had been killed there in the past 24 hours.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, IRC head Peter Maurer said the International Committee of the Red Cross has called on the warring parties to allow safe passage out of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol and allow aid in.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that Ukraine is asking Japan for high-quality satellite imagery to help it fend off Russian troops.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Russia’s warships on the Black Sea launched missiles at towns around Odessa, but its ground forces remained more than 80 miles away. Conservative US estimates put more than 7,000 Russian troops killed in less than three weeks of fighting. Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine continued for a fourth straight day.
(NY Times, 3/17/22)(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed NATO for the war in Ukraine and said he would resist calls to condemn Russia.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan offered in a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to host him and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy for talks.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Uzbekistan, a Central Asian republic with close ties to Russia, called for a diplomatic resolution of the conflict in Ukraine and said it would not recognize Moscow-backed separatist statelets there.
(Reuters, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 17, Arnold Schwarzenegger debunked Russian disinformation about the war on Ukraine and told President Vladimir V. Putin: “You started this war. You are leading this war. You can stop this war".
(NY Times, 3/17/22)
2022 Mar 18, President Vladimir Putin justified the invasion of Ukraine before a packed soccer stadium. Russian missiles struck the outskirts of the western city of Lviv, which had been a haven. Several missiles hit an aircraft repair plant in Lviv. Russian forces remain stalled outside Kyiv, taking heavy casualties.
(Reuters, 3/18/22)(NY Times, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 18, Ukraine's defense ministry said it has lost access to the Sea of Azov "temporarily" as invading Russian forces were tightening their grip around the port of Mariupol. A Russian strike on barracks in the southern city of Mykolaiv killed more than 40 marines.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)(NY Times, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 18, Russian shelling killed 9 people and left 17 wounded in suburbs of the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine. Russian forces pushed deeper into the battered port city of Mariupol, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)(AP, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 18, The UN rights office said that at least 816 civilians had been killed and 1,333 wounded in Ukraine through to March 17. The real toll is thought to be considerably higher.
(Reuters, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 18, Six Western nations (US, UK, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway) accused Russia of using the UN Security Council to launder disinformation, spread propaganda and justify an unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
(AP, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 18, A World Food Program (WFP) official said that food supply chains in Ukraine were collapsing, with a portion of infrastructure destroyed and many grocery stores and warehouses empty.
(Reuters, 3/18/22)
2022 Mar 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow to stop its invasion of Ukraine, saying it would otherwise take Russia "several generations" to recover from its losses in the war.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 19, In Ukraine a humanitarian corridor opened for evacuations in the Luhansk region. The Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said that 112 children have been killed so far in the war.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 19, Russia said it had used hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles to destroy a large weapons depot in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region. Russia also said it destroyed military radio and reconnaissance centers near the Ukrainian port city of Odessa using the Bastion coastal missile system.
(Reuters, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 19, Russia pushed into the center of the besieged city of Mariupol, moving closer to linking its forces in Ukraine’s south with separatist allies in the east. Local authorities said thousands of residents over the past week had been taken by force to Russian territory. Russian forces bombed an art school in Mariupol, where about 400 residents had taken shelter.
(NY Times, 3/19/22)(Reuters, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 19, The Wall Street Journal reported that top commander of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) intelligence agency has been placed under house arrest amid upheaval and infighting among officials as President Vladimir Putin fumes over the botched Ukraine invasion. The NY Times reported that a second FSB official was also under house arrest.
(Huffpost, 3/19/22)
2022 Mar 20, It was reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has signed a decree that combines all national TV channels into one platform, citing the importance of a "unified information policy" under martial law.
(Reuters, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 20, In Ukraine some 50 staff members who have been held hostage for weeks by Russians at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were rotated out and replaced by a group of 46 employees.
(Fox News, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 20, Russia struck Ukraine with cruise missiles overnight and early today from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and launched hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace.
(Reuters, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 20, Pope Francis, continuing his implicit criticism of Russia, called the conflict in Ukraine an unjustified "senseless massacre" and urged leaders to stop "this repugnant war".
(Reuters, 3/20/22)
2022 Mar 21, Ukraine rejected Russia’s demand that soldiers defending the embattled southern port of Mariupol surrender at dawn today, even as a powerful blast rocked the capital Kyiv and reduced a sprawling shopping mall to rubble.
(NY Times, 3/21/22)
2022 Mar 21, Ukraine's armed forces said Russian troops used stun grenades and gunfire to disperse a rally of pro-Ukrainian protesters in the occupied southern city of Kherson.
(Reuters, 3/21/22)
2022 Mar 21, Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom warned that radiation levels around the occupied Chernobyl nuclear plant risked rising because its radiation monitoring system and forest fire-fighting service were not working.
(Reuters 3/21/22)
2022 Mar 21, The Chinese Red Cross said it will offer an additional 10 million yuan ($1.57 million) of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
(Reuters, 3/21/22)
2022 Mar 21, Russia's main intelligence agency said several hundred mines had drifted into the Black Sea after breaking off from cables near Ukrainian ports, a claim dismissed by Ukraine which said it was disinformation and an attempt to close off parts of the sea.
(Reuters 3/21/22)
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